Fix me
by ohheyyoufoundme
Summary: "Everything about the new kid just screams 'fix me'." My take on what happened when Blaine transferred to Dalton.
1. Transfer

Ep. 1:

**Hello there! **

**My name is Natassa aka dapperswag and I'm the author to this fic. This is my first fanfiction here which is not a one-shot. I've posted several fanfictions on my youtube channel which is Natassa95 if you are interested. **

**Please have in mind that English isn't my first language.**

**So this is an idea I've had for a while now. This is my take on what happened when Blaine transferred to Dalton.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything except some oc's. Glee does not belong to me.**

"This is it. It's time."

He exhaled a shaky breath as he repeated those words in his head. His hands were tightly clasped together and he was wearing a light frown on his face.

The guy sitting next to him in the car gave him a worried look.

"Blaine? Blaine, are you okay?"

Blaine turned his head to look at the older male. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out, so he just nodded.

"First day nerves?" the other guy asked.

Blaine nodded again.

"Hey, if you need anything you can always call me. You know that."

"I know, Everett, I know," Blaine said quietly.

Everett looked at him for some seconds before he suddenly opened the car door and stepped out. He bent down and peeked into the vehicle.

"We better get going then," he said in a loud voice. "You don't want to be late."

Blaine sighed and reached to open the door. He got out of the car quickly and went to help Everett with his bags.

"It's alright, I've got it," he told him.

"At least let me take my guitar case," Blaine said and tried to grab the large black bag from Everett's hands.

"Oh, alright, alright, take it," Everett said with a dramatic sigh.

Blaine smirked slightly, but as soon as his eyes landed on the large building in front of him it turned into a grimace. Why had he agreed with this again?

"This is the best for you, you know," Everett said as if he had read his mind.

Blaine raised an eyebrow at him, but didn't comment on it. Everett had a way of always knowing what he thought. He was his brother after all.

"And remember, if you need anything, I'm just a phone call away, okay?" Everett repeated as they walked through the front entrance.

Blaine nodded and took in his surroundings. The walls were made out of dark wood and decorated with expensive looking paintings and huge windows. You could see dark red armchairs here and there. He knew Dalton Academy was big, but he didn't expect it to be _that_ big. How was he supposed to find his way in this school?

"Yes, Blaine Anderson."

Blaine looked up at the sound of his name. They had come to a stop at what looked like a reception. Everett was currently talking to a woman behind a desk. She had her blond hair in a tight pony tail and she was wearing glasses. As she stood up and handed some papers over to Everett he could see that she was wearing a long skirt which hugged her figure perfectly. If Blaine had been straight, he would've found her rather attractive. But he wasn't.

"The headmaster is ready to see you," the woman said in a soft voice as she shot Blaine a smile. Blaine tried to smile back, but it turned into a weird grimace instead. The woman didn't seem to mind. She was probably used to nervous wrecks aka new students.

Everett walked towards a door which the woman had pointed to and knocked. A man's voice told them to enter.

They walked in, Blaine slightly hesitatingly behind Everett. When the door closed Blaine knew there was no turning back. When he walked out of that door again he'd officially be a Dalton student. He didn't quite know how he felt about it.

"So, Mr Anderson, I hope you didn't have any trouble on your way here," the headmaster, a short bald man in a gray suit, asked as he motioned for them to sit down. Blaine caught a glimpse of his name badge. It said 'H. Stuart'.

"Not at all," Everett answered while Blaine just shook his head.

"Okay then. Let's just skip the small talk and cut to the chase, shall we?" Mr Stuart said with a chuckle. "We have informed all the teachers of you arrival Mr Anderson as well as your new roommate." He grabbed some papers from his desk and reached over to give them to Blaine. "Here we have your schedule and a map of the school."

Blaine visibly relaxed at the mention of the map.

"I'll have you know that we do not tolerate any sort of harassment or bad behaviour in any way in this school. Expulsion will be the fate of any student who breaks the rules."

Blaine nodded understandingly while Everett squeezed his hand. The man before them reached out his hand once more.

"This is the key to your dormitory. Your room is number 211. I hope you're going to like it here at Dalton Academy. Mid term transfers are rather rare, but it will be fine. As soon as you've caught on with your school work and made some friends, you're going to be just fine."

Blaine nodded again and stood up when the headmaster did.

"Your lessons start at 9 o'clock every morning. Curfew is at 10 on school nights and 11 on the weekends. All students are allowed to go home on the weekends, but you can also stay at the school. Visitors are allowed to 9 o'clock in the evenings. Breakfast is from 7 to 8:45, lunch is from 12 to 13 and dinner is from 6 to 9." The man said as if he had rehearsed it. "I hope you'll have an enjoyable year at Dalton Academy." He finished and held out his hand towards Blaine.

Blaine took it and shook it once before returning his arm to his side. Everett smiled and shook hands with the headmaster as well.

"Thank you, sir," he said.

"Oh, no problem at all. Have a safe drive back," Mr Stuart told Everett with a polite smile.

"Thank you," Everett repeated and walked towards the door with Blaine right on his track.

Before he left Blaine quickly turned and said a low 'thank you' to the man and walked out of the door. Mr Stuart just smiled. He had seen a lot of cases like Blaine. Quiet, shy, reversed. In time he'd break out of his shell. They always did.

When they were out of the headmaster's room, Blaine saw the woman at the reception again. She smiled at them and Blaine saw that she had a name badge as well which said Shirley Swift. He avoided her eyes as he passed her since he knew that he wouldn't be able to smile back this time either.

"So, let's find your dorm," Everett said as soon as they were back in the corridors again. "It can't be that hard. Where's that map he gave you?"

Blaine handed the map to his brother and fished his phone out of his pocket. It was 8 o'clock. Most people were probably coming back from dinner or were already in their room. That's why it was so empty and quiet, Blaine though.

"Alright, I think I've got it," Everett said after a while as he examined the map. "Come on, this way."

Blaine followed him. He knew that he would probably freak out as soon as he was left alone, but having Everett here calmed him. It always did.

After they crossed a few more corridors and walked up some stairs they finally reached what seemed like a huge common room. It had some people in it, but it was rather empty. Blaine saw the uniform clad boys and felt his stomach drop. There's no way he would fit in here, he thought as he took in their slightly civilized appearances and their gelled hair.

"Can I help you?" a voice said that made Blaine come back from his panic stricken reverie. "You seem kind of lost."

A tall blonde boy was standing in front of them with a polite smile on his face.

Everett glanced at Blaine before he said, "Yes, we're looking for the dorms."

The boy's smile got wider and he stepped back a bit. "You already found them. They're right up the stairs. Welcome to Dalton." He held out his hand towards Everett who shook it. "My name is Jeff."

"Everett," the older male answered.

Jeff extended his hand towards Blaine as well, but when the shorted teen only eyed it carefully he dropped it.

"And this is Blaine," Everett answered in his brother's place. "Anyway, we're on our way to room 211. Care to make our struggle easier and show us which direction we'll go?"

"Of course, you just walk up those stairs there to the dorms. The numbers are on the doors, so it will be hard to miss." Jeff answered and pointed towards the stairs.

"Thank you," Everett said for what felt like the hundredth time today and took a good hold of Blaine's bags and walked towards the dorms. Blaine followed him.

They finally reached the dorms and found number 211 almost instantly. Everett stood still for a moment before he glanced at Blaine and cough.

"You have the key, kiddo," he said softly.

"Oh, right." Blaine dug into his pocket and took out the golden key. He stuck it into the keyhole and turned it until he heard a soft 'click'. He glanced at Everett for encouragement before he turned the doorknob down and opened the door without a sound.

The room was rather big. It had two beds, a desk, two bedside tables, two armchairs and the floor was covered with a large blue carpet. The one thing that caught Blaine's attention though was the boy sitting on one of the beds.

"Hi, you must be my new roommate," he said with a grin as he stood up and walked towards them. "Want some help to unpack?" he asked before anyone had a chance to say anything.

Everett put Blaine's things down and turned to the boy.

"Hi, I'm Everett, his brother," he said and pointed towards Blaine. "Sorry, but I don't really have time to stay and chat right now. Blaine." Blaine looked up at his brother. "I have to go. I have a night time shift today and I'm already late. Are you going to be okay?" he asked in a hushed voice.

The other boy had gone back to his bed and was in the middle of putting his headphones on to give the two boys some privacy.

Blaine nodded and Everett pulled him into a hug.

"We'll talk more tomorrow, okay? Try and get some rest now. It's a big day tomorrow."

Blaine sighed as Everett pulled away and walked towards the door.

"Nice to meet you," he added to Blaine's roommate before he winked at his brother and walked out of the room and left the two boys alone.

"So," the boy said as he took out his headphones again. "Want some help to unpack?" he repeated.

Blaine stiffly shook his head.

"Okay then. Blaine was it?"

Blaine nodded.

"Can you talk at all?"

Blaine snorted, but remained silent. The boy chuckled.

"Well, my name is Matt. Matt Turner."

"Blaine Anderson," Blaine said after a while.

Matt grinned hugely. "He can talk!" he exclaimed.

Blaine bit his lip and sat down on his new bed. He glanced around the room. Despite its many amount of space it was much smaller than his bedroom at home. But he had to get used to it. This was his home now.

"Do you play?" Matt asked after a while and pointed towards the guitar case lying on the floor next to Blaine's other bags.

Blaine nodded and stood up to put it towards the wall next to his bed.

"Are you any good?" Matt asked in an obvious attempt to start a conversation.

Blaine shrugged.

He heard Matt sigh and turned towards him. He was being awfully impolite to his new roommate.

"I'm sorry, I just don't really feel like talking right now," he mumbled.

"It's okay. I understand. We have all year to talk, right?" Matt laughed lightly.

Blaine smiled a bit and lay down on the bed. He was actually really tired.

"I have to go somewhere, but I'll be back right before curfew. I hope you'll adjust here at Dalton, Blaine," Matt said and grabbed something from the desk and walked towards the door.

Blaine nodded towards him and then heard the door open and close again. He sighed. Alone at last. He didn't want to think. He didn't have the energy to. He quickly jumped out of the bed and started to unpack. Thankfully it wasn't much to unpack and he was done after about 20 minutes. He took a deep breath and walked towards the closet. In less than a minute he had changed into his pyjamas and was already lying under the covers on his bed. He closed his eyes and fell asleep.

**A/N: I always hate the first chapter, but I promise that it will get better (I hope…). I just kind of wanted to introduce Blaine and Dalton a bit. You will get more of Blaine's thoughts in the next chapter. Also Warblers. **

**Please keep in mind that this is not a Klaine fanfiction. Kurt isn't in it yet.**

**Reviews would make me really happy =)**

**My tumblr is thesoundofnat**

**I'll try to post the next chapter as soon as I can. Hope you enjoyed it!**

**/xo Natassa**


	2. First day

When Blaine opened his eyes it was pretty dark. It had to be in the middle of the night. But why did he hear voices speaking? Why weren't they sleeping?

He sat up with a jolt and realized that he had had his head under the covers, hence the darkness. He looked around the much too bright room and found his roommate sitting on his own bed, talking on the phone. He shot Blaine an apologetic smile when he caught his eye.

"Yeah. Yes, mom. I will. I love you too. Bye." He hung up and sighed deeply. "Sorry about that. My mom always insists on calling me at the most unpleasant times," he said with a chuckle. "Sorry if I woke you up."

"It's okay, I…I'd have to get up anyway," Blaine said absentmindedly as he glanced at the clock. 8:12. His first lessons would start in less than an hour.

He grumbled and hid under the covers again. "Strike that. I don't want to get up anytime soon."

He heard Matt chuckle. "Come on. It's your first day. You don't want to be late."

Blaine heaved himself up from the bed with a sigh. He felt slightly lightheaded as he stumbled towards the closet and took out his uniform. He looked at it with a frown.

"You'll get used to it," Matt said.

Blaine sighed again. "I guess."

He held the uniform tightly to his chest and walked into the bathroom. Once there he took the chance to examine himself a bit in the mirror.

He looked lifeless. His hazel eyes looked tired and worn out, his dark curly hair was pointing to every direction imaginable, his shoulders were tiredly bent forward and his arms were just hanging there beside his body.

His roommate, on the other hand, had long dark-blond hair and a pale but beautiful face. His body was well built and he seemed to be funny and nice. Everything Blaine once longed to be. But he didn't really care anymore. Why would he?

He quickly brushed his teeth and got dressed, and then he stood in front of the mirror once more. He looked lost in that uniform. There's no way that he would ever fit in here.

He sighed quietly and drew a hand through his hair. That would do. It's not like he owned a comb.

He tried to relax and exited the bathroom. Matt was waiting for him.

"Are you ready to go and get breakfast?" he asked cheerily.

Breakfast. The most important meal of the day. The one all the mothers made their kids eat. The one Blaine hated the most. But he still nodded. What else could he do?

"Great! Let's go."

He walked with Matt towards the cafeteria. It wasn't too far, but he would have never been able to find it himself.

"So what do you want? We have mostly everything. Do you want cereal? Or a sandwich? An omelette? Some coffee?" Matt rambled on as they stood in the line to get their food.

"I think some coffee will do," Blaine mumbled.

"Hm, I guess some people can survive until lunch with only coffee. I would never be able to do that though."

Matt pointed towards a coffee machine that was standing by some tables and Blaine walked up to it. He quickly got his coffee, black with just a bit of milk, and waited for his roommate. Matt came up to him with a plate full of pancakes and an apple. He searched through the room with his eyes and smiled when another boy caught his gaze.

"Hey, Wes!" he greeted and walked towards him.

Blaine stayed behind. Matt had his own friends. Why should he come and disturb?

"Blaine, come on."

Blaine looked up and saw Matt waving him over. He hesitated, but followed.

"Blaine, this is Wes and David. They're both sophomores like you. I'm a junior so we won't have any lessons together. Just stay with these two and you'll find your way," Matt said and pointed towards an Asian and a dark skinned guy. They grinned at him. Blaine just nodded back.

"Great! I'll see you after school then," Matt said and disappeared from the table before Blaine could blink.

"Blaine, was it?" the Asian one – Wes – asked.

Blaine nodded.

"Why don't you sit down?" the other one – David – said.

Blaine obeyed.

Silence followed. Blaine held his cup tightly with both his hands and stared blankly at it. Wes and David exchanged wary looks.

"So, Blaine," Wes started, "Are you sure you don't want anything to eat? Will you make through the day with just coffee?"

Blaine nodded without looking up at him.

"Uhm, are you okay?" David asked and leaned forward in his chair. "You seem…down?"

Blaine glanced up at that. He was just about to tell them that he was fine, when Wes said, "I'm sure he's just nervous. It's his first day after all."

Blaine nodded and looked down again. He felt his stomach churn when the smell of oatmeal reached his nostrils. He clenched his right hand and used all his will power not to hurl up there and then. The two boys noticed how his face got hard and he tensed up. They exchanged another wary look.

They – Wes and David that is – ate in silence for some minutes. Blaine took some sips of his coffee and avoided looking at them. Instead he glanced around the cafeteria. This is where he'd eat every one of his meals for the rest of the year. Great.

"Come on, we'll be late. Are you ready to go?" Wes looked at Blaine as he stood up. Blaine nodded and grabbed his bag before he followed Wes and David out of the cafeteria and into the mass of boys, all headed to their respective classes. Blaine tried not to make eye contact with anyone.

Once he entered the bright room where he was going to have his first lesson, he automatically walked towards the back of the classroom. Without a word he slumped into an empty chair and locked his eyes on the desk.

David glanced at Wes. "He doesn't seem to like attention, that one."

Wes frowned. "It looked like he wasn't even thinking of where he was going. Like he usually sits in the back alone."

"Well, we can't have it that way, can we?" David gave Wes a pointed look and the both of them approached Blaine and sat down in front of him.

Blaine looked up. Wes and David were seated before him with friendly smiles on their faces. Blaine nodded shortly, grateful that they decided to give him some space by not sitting beside him.

"So, Blaine," David started. "You must be pretty intelligent since you're taking AP calculus."

Wes snorted. "You don't have to be intelligent to take AP calculus. Not that I don't think you're smart," he added hastily and looked at Blaine, slightly panicked. "You just have to understand the brilliancy that is mathematics." He ended his sentence with an exaggerated wave and rolled his eyes.

David looked at him in amusement. "Nick?"

"Nick," Wes said with a nod.

"Nick is our friend and he's one of the most intelligent people in this school. Straight A's all over the place," David said with a wistful sigh. "Befriend him and you'll never have trouble with your homework again."

Blaine chewed on his bottom lip. "Sounds like a plan," he said quietly.

The other two grinned, happy to hear him talk. "He's also great to hang out with, so he's not only homework and studies," Wes added.

The classroom door opened just as Blaine nodded. He immediately looked up and was met by a man in his mid thirty's in a gray suit. His hair that must've been a shiny shade of black once, was looking rather lifeless, but still made him look formal and neat. The deep voice that accompanied his appearance made Blaine sit up straighter in a motion of respect. He seemed like the kind of man you shouldn't mess with.

"Good morning, kids," he greeted. The class replied in different kinds of 'hellos' as the man examined the room. "Where is Reyson?" he asked.

"He was feeling sick this morning, sir," a kid in the front replied.

"Sick? Again?" The professor sighed deeply. "Did he visit the school nurse?"

"He told me that he was going to rest for a bit and see if he was feeling any better," the same boy said.

The educator nodded and his eyes continued to roam over the class. Finally, he spotted Blaine in the back.

"Oh, Blaine Anderson, was it?" Blaine nodded without meeting the man's eyes. "I was informed of your transfer this very morning, so I didn't have time to get you your books." Everyone turned their heads in Blaine's direction. He felt himself cringe. He didn't like it when all the attention was on him.

The professor noticed his discomfort and threw a stern look at the surrounding boys. "I suggest you continue working where you left off last time and I'll be right back. Whoever makes any commotions will get detention." Then he proceeded to stalk off and left the boys looking over their notes with concentrated expressions.

Once he was out of the room everyone started talking. Blaine was glad to hear that they weren't talking about him, but just took the chance to chat with their friends at the absence of their teacher.

David leaned towards him. "That was Michael Burke. He's strict, but fair. I'm warning you about getting into arguments with him, though. It's not pretty."

Blaine nodded. "Also, this Reyson kid," Wes said. "Scott Reyson is kind of like the 'trouble maker' around here. No pranks or anything, he just pretty much doesn't care about the rules. He skips classes more than he attends them. The only reason he hasn't been expelled yet is because his parents give a good amount of the money that keeps this school on the roll. The faculty wouldn't dare to mess with the Reyson's."

"And he keeps getting his roommate to tell the teachers he's feeling sick," David added. "I don't think anyone really believes him, but they can't really prove that he's lying about it."

"He's a great kid, though, despite all that," Wes concluded.

Blaine nodded without a word.

Once Mr Burke was back with his books and Blaine got the chance to start catching up, he realized that the class indeed wasn't as hard as you'd think. You just had to understand what you were doing. But that didn't mean that he didn't have to spend more time on one equation than he would at his old school. Dalton was one of the best high schools after all.

The rest of the day went by in the same fashion as his math class. The teachers gave him his books, the kids gave him curious looks and he tried to make himself as unnoticeable as possible. But the more classes he attended the less fuss he caused among the students. Most of them had already seen him earlier in the day and had probably informed their friends. Blaine wasn't sure how he felt about the fact that they might've talked about him.

Wes and David tried to involve him in their conversations, but honestly, Blaine didn't say much at all. Some boys had tried to talk to him during his lessons without any luck. It was a wonder that Wes and David had kept him around, Blaine thought as they sat down for lunch.

"Man, you should see how the food is at the beginning of the year. They always make it delicious so that new students will think that the food is awesome and want to stay. But as soon as we're a couple of weeks into the semester, bam! It makes you wonder how you've survived all these years," Wes grumbled.

David rolled his eyes. "The food is not that bad, Wes. You're just saying that because you hate fish gratin."

Wes raised his right index finger. "Strongly dislike," he corrected.

"Yeah, yeah," David waved him off.

Blaine examined the food on his plate. It didn't look that bad. Quite the opposite actually, Blaine thought as he grabbed his fork and poked it into the fish. He took a huge bite and realized just how hungry he was. He hadn't eaten since yesterday after all.

"At least Blaine seems to like it," David commented and took a bite himself.

Wes stared at the food in disgust. "I can see that."

"Hey, guys." A rather tall, blonde guy approached them and sat down at their table. Wes and David smiled at him.

"Hey, Jeff. This is Blaine. He just transferred here." David pointed to the said transfer student. Jeff threw one look at him and grinned.

"Hey, we've met before. You and another guy asked me where the dorms were," he said.

Blaine nodded in recognition. "Yeah, I remember."

"I hope your first day's been good. Are these two treating your right or are they just driving you crazy?" Jeff asked and nodded towards Wes and David playfully.

"Hey! We are _magnificent_ hosts, thank you very much," Wes said and held his head high.

Jeff just laughed and Blaine couldn't help but crack a smile.

'_He's smiling. That's a start,'_ David thought.

"Hey, guys," a voice said as another boy appeared next to their table. He was slightly shorter than Jeff and had dark hair. He smiled at them as he sat down.

"Hey, Nick. This is Blaine. He's new," Jeff supplied as Nick looked at Blaine curiously.

Blaine nodded – again – and Nick smiled at him.

"Hi, Blaine. I'm Nick. Welcome to Dalton Academy," he said and gestured to their surroundings.

Blaine remembered Wes and David saying something about an intelligent guy called Nick. This must be him.

"Thanks," Blaine mumbled in reply and returned to his food.

"Change of subject," Wes said and slammed his palms onto the table. "Nick, I have a chemistry test tomorrow so I'm gonna have to ask you to cancel whatever you're doing tonight and help me because I don't get a thing."

Nick rolled his eyes. "What's up with you and chemistry?"

"Our relationship is a bit strained since I'm on the edge of failing that subject," Wes said with a sigh.

David snickered. "Oh, how I love it when you get all dramatic."

"It's all for you, baby," Wes said with a wink.

Jeff and Nick broke out into hysterics. Blaine bit his lip and watched them quietly.

"You two are going to be the end of me," Jeff choked out once he had calmed down. Wes and David just grinned.

The bell echoed through the cafeteria and all the students got up to leave for their respective classes. Blaine didn't move. The way the others had reacted when Wes pretended to seduce David worried him. What if they weren't okay with gay people? This school might have a no bullying policy, but that didn't mean that people would act as if him being gay wasn't a bad thing. What if they stopped talking to him? What if they cut him off completely? Blaine was worried, that much was true.

"Blaine, are you coming?" Blaine glanced up at the people who for the first time in his life were friendly towards him and nodded. Without a word he followed them to their English class.

**A/N: Okay, I haven't updated since last year and the first thing I have to say is that I am so sorry. But I was stuck and I just didn't know how to continue this story. But the inspiration that I needed finally came and I was able to finish chapter two. Hopefully I won't have any more difficulties with this fanfic.**

**Oh, I kind of changed some stuff in chapter one, so you might want to check it again. The changes aren't that huge, I just changed the name of Blaine's roommate and some other odds and ends.**

**I hope you guys aren't _too_ mad at me and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Chapter three _will_ be posted much earlier than chapter two was. Just hold on =)**

**My tumblr: thesoundofnat**

**My twitter: thesoundofnat**

**My youtube channel (where I post fanfics as well): Natassa95 **

**Wow, here I am shamelessly promoting myself. Don't mind me.**

**Bye for now!**

**/xo Natassa**


	3. Overwhelming

"So, the new kid, Blaine," David said as he threw his bag aside once he and Wes entered their shared dorm room.

Wes sat down on his bed and looked questioning at his friend. "What about him?"

"He seems a bit…reserved, don't you think?"

"Well, he's new here. I'm pretty sure that's not easy."

David frowned. "Maybe the reason that he _is_ new here has something to do with his behaviour."

Wes eyed him carefully. "What do you mean?"

"Think about it. He transfers in the middle of the semester to a boarding school that has a no bullying policy. He barely talks to anyone. He'd rather not be in the centre of attention. And did you notice him flinching every time anyone made a rapid movement? All those things are signs that something happened at his old school. Something so bad that it made him transfer." David lay down on his bed and put his arms under his head to get a good view of his friend. "What do you reckon?"

Wes shook his head. "Whatever his reasons for transferring schools are, it's not really any of our business."

David sighed. "I know snooping is wrong and all that, but I can't help but wonder. He's kind of our friend after all. Or at least I hope he will be one day."

"He'll open up when he's ready. Right now he needs to feel safe and know that he has someone to rely on," Wes said and grabbed his satchel from the floor.

David nodded. "I guess you're right."

Wes grinned. "I'm always right!"

David shook his head with a laugh. "Come on, we have to work on Mrs Grey's assignment, otherwise she'll kill us."

"Charming woman," Wes said as he looked through his bag for his books.

"Indeed."

As they both sat down with their books in hand they had come to a silent agreement. Something about the new kid screamed 'fix me' and that's exactly what they were going to do.

***Line break* **

"Hey, how was your first day?" Matt asked once Blaine entered their dorm.

Blaine put his bag down next to his bed and turned to his roommate. "Fine." Then he proceeded to shrug his blazer off and threw it on a chair. It got really hot with all those clothes on, even for a day in mid October.

"Did you get any catch up-work?" Matt asked through the pen that he was currently chewing on while looking at the notes on his desk.

Blaine groaned. "Why did you remind me? I don't know how I would be able to finish this in a _month_, and it's for next week!" He fell dramatically on his bed with a loud sigh.

Matt chuckled. "I can help you if you want. I'm a year ahead so it's probably stuff I've already done."

Blaine frowned. "Don't you have your own homework?" He pointed at the papers that were spread around his roommate.

"Nah, they're due the end of the week anyway," Matt dismissed with a wave. Then his face fell. "Which is exactly why I'm working on them now. This is hard, man!"

Blaine laughed, something Matt heard him do for the first time. He smiled slightly. Blaine seemed to relax around him more and more.

"Maybe you can ask Nick to help you. You know Nick, right? Dalton's genius," Matt continued.

Blaine bit his lip. "I don't know…"

"Come on. I'm sure he'll be happy to help. Let's go ask him." Matt jumped up and walked towards the door and gestured for Blaine to do the same. Blaine hesitated a bit, but stood up and followed him nevertheless. He really didn't know if asking Nick to help him was such a good idea. He barely knew the guy, plus his worries about the others disliking him for being gay had haunted him all day. What if someone found out?

"Here we are. Room 203," Matt said and knocked lightly on the door. Shuffling was heard from inside the dorm before a dark haired figure opened it. Nick threw one look at the visitors before smiling warmly.

"Hi."

"Hey, Nick. Blaine here," Matt nodded his head at the shorter boy, "needs some help with his homework since they gave him enough work to last for a lifetime. I'd gladly help him, but unfortunately school isn't my strongest side, so I thought maybe you could help him catch up." He gave Nick a hopeful look.

"You really don't have to," Blaine started to protest just as Nick said; "Of course I can help."

Blaine closed his mouth and looked at Matt who just smiled and pushed him towards the door.

"Great! I'll be in our room if you need anything, Blaine. Thanks again, Nick." With those words he stalked off towards the direction they came from.

Nick turned to Blaine with a friendly smile. "Come on in."

Blaine nodded gratefully before entering the surprisingly messy dorm room. Blaine had kind of pegged Nick as a neat kind of guy. Nick gestured for him to take a seat on one of the chairs close to the desk and put his own books aside so that Blaine could put his there instead.

"So, what subjects do you have to catch up on?"

Blaine threw his books a dejected look before answering, "All of them."

Nick gave a laugh. "They did that to me too when I transferred here." _Wait, Nick transferred here as well? Woah. Didn't see that one coming._

"So, maybe we should start now," Nick continued.

"Right. Uhm, thanks for doing this. You really don't have to," Blaine mumbled.

"Hey, I want to. Friends help friends, right?"

Blaine looked down. "Right."

Nick noticed the way Blaine cringed a bit and hung his head low as he looked at the book in his lap. He was shutting everyone out, Nick could tell, and he didn't want this mysterious new kid to do that to himself. He knew all too well how lonely it could get. Nick vowed to himself that he would do anything in his power to get Blaine to open up. Maybe not to him, but at least to someone. He tried to meet his eye as he reached over to explain something to him, but Blaine kept his gaze on the book. He seemed to become less tense as the time went by however, and for that Nick was glad.

"You just have to remember to extend the numerators," Nick said and scribbled down something in Blaine's notebook. Blaine's furrowed brows quickly shot up in comprehension. He let out a small "Oh," and grabbed his pen to solve the equation once again, this time correctly.

"Great job," Nick said with a smile. Blaine looked up at him and gave a brief smile on his own before turning to his book again.

"Thanks for doing this," he said for probably the tenth time that evening.

"Hey," Nick laughed. "You have to stop thanking me. Believe me, you're probably the easiest to work with around here. You get it a lot faster."

Blaine snorted as the image of Nick standing by his dorm door facing a line of boys, all wanting help with their homework, flashed through his mind. Nick raised an eyebrow at Blaine's amused expression, but before he could comment on it the door got thrown open with a loud 'bang'. Both boys jumped, Blaine slightly more than Nick, and turned towards the intruder.

"Nick! I'm freaking out! I don't get anything!" Wes screeched and held his up chemistry book. His eyes landed on the second boy in the room and he let out a surprised sound. "Oh. Hi, Blaine."

Blaine waved awkwardly and an apologetic look creeped onto his face. Like he wasn't allowed to be here. Wes frowned, but turned towards Nick again.

"I don't get a thing. You have to help me, Nicky, you have to." Wes sat down on his knees and hugged Nick's legs. Blaine couldn't help but watch in amusement as Nick tried to struggle himself free from Wes' grip.

"Let go, Wes. Of course I'll help you, but you have to let go first."

Wes quickly stood up and pulled Nick into a tight hug. "Thank you, Nicky!"

"Wes! How many times do I have to tell you? Don't call me Nicky."

"You don't have any problems when Jeff calls you that," Wes pouted.

Nick rolled his eyes. "Do you want my help or not?"

"Yes! I do want your help, Nicky- I mean, Nick." Wes smiled in an innocently manner. Nick let out a laugh.

"I'll help you once I'm done with Blaine." He turned back to the silent boy who averted his gaze and mumbled, "It's okay. I can finish this on my own."

"No, please, don't go because I'm here. Nick's known for helping several people at the same time," Wes said as he leafed through his book. Blaine blinked several times before sitting back down. He really did need help with his homework.

"Okay," Nick said and scooted closer to the two of them. "Blaine, just do as I taught you before and you'll make it through your maths work. Wes, what chapter are you on?"

They worked for two more hours before Blaine was completely done with his catch up work and Wes seemed to be less freaked out about his test. He kept saying 'thank you' as they packed up their things and Nick had to give him a light shove to make his stop. Blaine settled on smiling gratefully at Nick before they left the boy's dorm room.

"So, did Nick help at all?" Wes asked as they walked side by side to their respective rooms. Blaine nodded and adjusted his satchel on his right shoulder. "I told you you'd never have any trouble in school again if you befriended him," Wes said with a grin. Blaine just laughed.

Once Wes reached his dorm room, which turned out to be rather close to Blaine's, he turned towards the shorter boy with a kind smile.

"I hope you've had a good first day, Blaine. I'll see you at dinner?"

Blaine nodded. "Yeah. See you then." And they went their separate ways. Blaine had to be honest. It felt great to have some people talking to him, and Wes and Nick were great, but he still felt a bit worried about letting them in. You can't trust just anyone.

"Hey!" a voice exclaimed once Blaine entered the dorm. He jumped and turned to find his roommate sitting in the exact same position as he had more than two hours ago. Blaine raised an eyebrow and Matt smiled sheepishly. "Did you get anything done?"

Blaine threw his bag on the floor and sat down on his bed. "I finished all of it."

Matt's eyes widened and he let out a high pitched "Oho!" and clapped his hands together. "You finished it all? I _told_ you Nick was a genius!"

Blaine couldn't help but laugh. "That's probably the only thing I've heard today. Everyone keeps telling me that."

"Well, it's true," Matt said with a shrug and turned back to his work. Blaine glanced at the clock. It was almost dinner time, but Blaine figured he had some time to call Everett, so he swiftly dialled his big brother's number. It rang four times before Everett's tired voice greeted him.

"Blaine?"

"Hey, Ev. Did I wake you?"

"No… Well, yes. But I had to get up anyway."

"Long day?"

"Ugh, let's just not talk about it. How was your first day?"

Blaine threw Matt a brief glance before getting up and walking into the bathroom, in that way getting some privacy as well as not disturbing his studying roommate.

Then he started telling Everett about his first day as a student at Dalton Academy.

"And there's this guy called Nick and he's like some kind of genius, so he helped me finish my catch up work. And my roommate hasn't left his spot at his desk for three hours! I'm kind of intimidated of all the studying the students here seem to do."

"Hey, this Nick guy could probably help you if you needed it," Everett said.

"Yeah, but I don't want to make him help me all the time. It's not fair to him and I have to learn to do it by myself," Blaine argued.

"Okay, okay. Do as you want," Everett said and Blaine could just imagine him holding his hands up defensively and he had to smile. "Anyway, how are you feeling? It must be hard to take it all in."

Blaine bit his bottom lip as he pondered over his brother's question. How was he feeling? Happy? No, not quite. Sad? No, not that either. Confused? Definitely. Overwhelmed? Absolutely. Was there even a word that described his feelings?

"Blaine?"

"To be honest, I feel better than I have in months," Blaine answered eventually.

Everett smiled. "That's great, B. If you ever need me I'm just a phone call away, alright?"

"I know. Thanks, Ev."

"Anytime, little bro. Anytime. I love you, Blaine."

"I love you too, Ev."

They hung up. Blaine let his arm fall limply to his side as he looked around the room restlessly. He caught sight of himself in the mirror and couldn't help but wince. He looked awful, but that wasn't something new. He moved closer and just stared at his reflection. His hand reached out by itself and touched the slightly steamy mirror, indicating that Matt probably did leave his spot to take a shower sometime during the afternoon. He let his fingers trace over the object before a knock on the door made him jump.

"Blaine? Are you ready to go to dinner?"

Blaine backed away from the mirror with a sigh.

"I'm coming."

***Line break***

Nick was walking down the halls on his way to dinner when a voice in his ear startled him.

"Hey, Nicky!"

Nick jumped and supported himself on the wall next to him as he clutched his hand over his heart. He glared at the culprit.

"Jeff, are you trying to kill me or something? You can't just sneak up to people like that!"

Jeff looked slightly guilty, but was smiling nevertheless. "Aww, I'm sorry, Nicky. But in my defence, you're fun to scare."

Nick rolled his eyes and continued walking as if nothing had happened. Jeff was right at his heels.

"Are you mad at me?" he asked from right behind his shoulder and Nick couldn't help but smile at how much of a child his best friend sounded like.

"No, I'm not, Jeffy," he responded. Jeff grinned and skipped to his side and put a hand around him and pulled Nick into him. Nick's muffled protests were ignored as Jeff hugged him tightly.

"Aww, isn't this sweet?" a voice said and had them both looking up. Trent, Jeff's roommate, walked up to them with a teasing smirk. "But maybe you should save this for the bedroom where no one can disturb you."

Nick blushed furiously while Jeff just groaned. Trent was always on them like this, and quite frankly, it was starting to annoy Jeff. Sure, Nick might be gay, but Jeff was straight for God's sake! From where was Trent getting these ideas? Just because they were really close it didn't mean they had to be into each other like that. Right?

"Shut up, Nixon," Jeff said and started walking again. Trent just grinned and winked at Nick who was staring after Jeff. Nick blushed even more and hurried to follow the blonde boy. Trent laughed and followed them as well.

"Hey, guys," Wes greeted them with a wave once they sat down at their table. Then he proceeded to shove potatoes into his mouth and sighed contently. He hadn't eaten much at lunch, so he was starving by now. David shook his head at his friend.

Blaine was silently picking at his food, but didn't seem to have eaten anything. Nick took a seat next to him and gave him a smile which the other boy responded to with a tug on the corner of his lips. Then he went back to staring at his food.

"Hey, you must be the new kid," Trent spoke up once he had seated himself. "I'm Trent Nixon." He shot Blaine a smile and Blaine nodded at his direction.

"Blaine Anderson," he replied.

"So, Blaine. What do you think of Dalton so far?"

Blaine shrugged. "It's fine, I guess."

"Oh, believe me, Dalton is more than fine. The years you'll spend here will be the best years of your life," Trent said and took a bite of his food. Blaine just nodded.

"'Sup losers." A not very tall, but still well built boy approached their table. His blazer was half opened and his messy black hair was styled in spikes. He was sporting dark jeans and a pair of sneakers. Blaine couldn't help but wonder if his attire wasn't breaking the rules.

"Hey, Scott," the others greeted. Jeff scooted over so that Scott could sit down.

"Thanks, Jeffy boy," he said with a wink. Jeff just shoved him lightly.

"Don't flirt with Nick's man, Scott," Trent mock-scolded. Nick turned a bright shade of red.

"He's not…we're not…I mean," Nick stuttered as the others started laughing. Jeff rubbed his temples while shooting Trent a dirty glare. Blaine raised an eyebrow at the whole situation. This teasing didn't seem like…bad teasing. More like friendly teasing. Could it be that they were okay with gay people and Blaine had been worrying in vain?

"Could you please just leave us alone already?" Jeff grumbled.

"We will once you get your acts together," David said with a grin.

"Guys, I'm not even gay!"

"No, but you'll make an exception for Nick, won't you?"

"Just…just be quiet," Jeff said with a defeated sigh.

The conversation casually turned in another direction and both Jeff and Nick relaxed. Nick finally got the guts to look up from the table and caught Jeff's eye. The blonde boy smiled at his best friend and it was like the previous events hadn't happened at all. This must be an everyday occurrence, Blaine thought.

About half an hour later Wes covered a large yawn. "I think I'll go back to the dorms. I have to study a bit more before I go to bed. Coming, David?"

David nodded and they both stood up. "Blaine? Want to accompany us since our rooms are pretty close to each other?"

Blaine nodded and followed them out of the cafeteria once they had bid the others goodnight. He waited until he was sure they were out of earshot from the others before he asked, "So, uh, what's up with Nick and Jeff?"

Wes and David looked at him in amusement and chuckled.

"Oh, nothing really. They've been best friends ever since Nick transferred here about a year ago and we like to tease them for their closeness. We know Nick is gay, so that makes it even funnier," Wes explained.

"Don't cross the line, though. Jeff gets easily annoyed about this," David filled in.

"Come to think of it, he didn't use to get _this_ upset before," Wes pondered.

David frowned. "That's kind of true. Maybe he's just had enough?"

"Maybe."

"Anyway, no one would be really surprised if they _did_ end up together. That's how close they are."

Blaine nodded as he took in the information. Nick was gay. They were okay with that. _They were okay with gay people._ Blaine felt as though he could fly.

***Line break***

**So, did you like it? I've spent days writing on this chapter and I know nothing really happens, but it gives you an insight of the life at Dalton at least. Believe me, things will happen later on, but right now I want to focus more on the characters and the everyday life of a Dalton student.**

**Reviews would make me really happy ^^**

**/xo Natassa**


	4. Just broken

Blaine let his calloused fingers trail over the smooth wood. He tilted his head a bit and adjusted the guitar on his lap before gently pressing the strings. It's been too long since he did this. He bit his lip and stared at the instrument for a moment, memories flashing before his eyes. He exhaled loudly and put his most prized possession back into its case.

"You really saved me," he whispered and limply fell onto the covers off his bed. Music was the only thing that could help him, but the guitar brought back so many memories he just wanted to forget.

"_Hey, B, what are you doing here?" Everett asked softly. Blaine looked up from his position on the floor and shrugged._

"_Playing," he replied and gripped the guitar tighter._

_The older brother walked up to him and kneeled down to his level. _

"_Why are you sitting on the cold basement floor?"_

"_It was the only place I knew he wouldn't look."_

_A long silence followed his sentence. It was only broken when Everett took a shivering breath._

"_He will come around." He put his hand on Blaine's shoulder and smiled weakly. "Eventually."_

"Blaine? Are you okay?"

Blaine opened his eyes and looked at his roommate who had just entered the dorm. Matt closed the door and eyed Blaine carefully.

"I'm fine," Blaine said shortly and sat up again. He ran a hand through his hair and glanced at the time. 9:12.

"You look a bit shaken up," Matt stated after a while.

"It's just been a long day," Blaine said with a sigh.

"Oh, yeah! You've only been here one day. How are you feeling about that?" Matt asked, trying to change the subject.

Blaine opened his mouth, but nothing came out, so he closed it again. He bit his bottom lip and glanced at his guitar case. _Messed up…He felt messed up_

"I feel good," he finally said. Matt noticed that he was avoiding eye contact and was probably not telling the whole truth, but decided not to comment on it. Blaine had made a great progress from last night after all. He was still rather quiet, reserved and shy, but he seemed to loosen up a bit. _If it took him one day to soften up, getting him to _open_ up will be a piece of cake, _Matt thought happily.

Matt sat down on his bed and stretched. "I think I'm gonna crash early tonight. Mind you, I spent most of the day studying, so I need it," he said and yawned widely.

Blaine took a deep breath before exhaling loudly. "Crashing early doesn't seem like such a bad idea actually."

Matt grinned before standing and picking up a wide grey t-shirt that was lying discarded on the floor. He made a motion to pull his blazer off, but turned to Blaine with questioning eyes.

"Do you need the bathroom or is it okay if I can change in there?"

The shorted boy rolled his eyes. "This is your room. You don't have to change in the bathroom. Change in here."

"I thought you might get uncomfortable since we don't really know each other."

"I'm gonna have to learn to get comfortable. We'll stay as roommates for a while now," Blaine said and turned to grab his own pyjamas. He picked some invisible lint from the garment and said in a quieter voice, "I'm not uncomfortable with you changing in here, but I'm not comfortable with _me_ changing in here."

Matt nodded. "That's understandable. Bathroom's all yours." With those words he started stripping his clothes off. Blaine, glad that his roommate was so understanding, occupied the other room.

It didn't take long until they were both lying in their beds. Blaine was tired, but not enough to actually fall asleep right at that moment. He heard Matt shift a little and his breathing was starting to even out. It wasn't even 10pm yet. Wow, the studying really took its toll on him.

Blaine sighed and turned to his side. This was the part he was dreading. While trying to fall asleep your thoughts always caught up to you. Everything that had happened on his first day at Dalton was spinning in his mind. New faces, names, places, people. Everything was new. Blaine _knew_ this place would be good for him and he _knew_ it was normal to feel a bit insecure at the beginning, but he still couldn't help but clutching his pillow tightly to his chest while the tears burned behind his closed eyelids. This was ridiculous. He had absolutely _nothing_ to cry over. The past was in the past. He was safe now.

"_You can't run forever."_

_Blaine turned his head quickly towards the direction the voice had come from. He was standing in a dark alley. At first he thought he was alone, that the voice had only been his imagination, but as he felt a fist collide with his jaw he knew that that was not the case._

_He hissed in pain and brought a hand to his face. Cold laughter was heard not far from where he was kneeling on the ground and he felt his blood freeze._

"_Can't even take a punch, you little fag."_

_More laughter joined in and Blaine felt someone push him forwards so that he was almost lying down._

_He tried to get up. Tried to get up and run, but before he managed to a hand had grabbed his hair and pulled him back. He struggled to get out of the grip, but it was useless. He was not strong enough._

"_Where do you think you're going?"_

"_Please. Please just leave me alone," he cried._

"_I will teach you not to spread your disgusting fairy dust around again."_

_Something sharp hit his side and Blaine screamed. He could feel the hot liquid trickle down his body._

"_Please stop! Please!"_

"_Disgusting. Fag. _Blaine."

"Please don't!"

"Blaine!"

"No!"

"Blaine! Wake up! Blaine!"

Blaine woke up with a start and looked around the room frantically. It was dark, too dark for Blaine's liking. Then his eyes fell on the person who was kneeling in front of him. Blaine felt his heart jump and he screamed loudly, trying to get as far away as possible from the intruder. A hand grabbed his wrist.

"Blaine, it's okay. It's just me."

Blaine froze and squinted at the other male. It was just Matt. He felt his heart pounding and he tried to calm his breathing. Matt slowly let go of his hands and Blaine sat back down properly. He swallowed and clenched his fist. He was shaking really badly.

"Try to relax," Matt attempted to soothe him. He stood up and went into the bathroom, the light coming from the room blinding Blaine momentary and he closed his eyes. He only opened them again when he felt Matt's weight on the mattress.

"Here." He held out a glass of water that Blaine gratefully accepted. He gulped it down in just three sips.

Matt took the glass back from Blaine and placed it on his bedside table. Blaine ran a hand through his sweaty curls and fell down on his pillow. He knew Matt was watching him, waiting for him to tell him what happened, so he lazily turned his head towards his roommate.

"Nightmare," he explained.

Matt nodded. "I got that much. If you…ever want to talk about it, I'm here, okay?"

Blaine nodded as well and turned his head away again. "Thank you, Matt," he mumbled.

Matt squeezed his shoulder lightly before getting up to go to his own bed. Blaine waited until he had settled in before he allowed himself to try to breathe normally. There was no way he was falling asleep again after that. Absolutely no way.

***Line break***

"You seem tired," David said once Blaine settled at his side in the cafeteria. Matt shot him a concerned look before departing to find his own friends. They hadn't talked about what had happened the other night and nor did Blaine want to.

"I didn't sleep much last night," Blaine mumbled and took a sip of his coffee.

"Hey, there's no need to be nervous. Your first day went fine, I'm sure the second one will too," Wes spoke up and smiled gently at him.

Blaine nodded slowly. They thought he hadn't slept because of nerves, and he wasn't going to reprimand them anytime soon.

"So, I was thinking one of you would tackle me so I'll hurt my right hand – that's the hand I use when I write, by the way – so I won't be able to do my chemistry test today," Wes said and looked at the two of them hopefully.

David rolled his eyes. "Stop being so frightened of this damn test. Nick helped you study and you said it went fine, so why worry?"

"Chemistry isn't my strong side, okay?" Wes said with a pout and sank in his seat.

"You'll just have to really concentrate on what you're doing and don't let your mind wander off, and I'm sure you'll be fine," Blaine said and looked at Wes from behind his cup. The other two looked surprised yet glad that Blaine had spoken, and beamed at him. Blaine found himself wince a bit from the attention.

"Anyway," David said when he felt Blaine's tension. "Just do as Blaine said and everything will be fine."

Wes nodded, though he still looked a bit nervous. His phone vibrated on the table and Wes picked it up and read the text. He smiled as he formed a reply.

"Is it Addison?" David asked with a knowing grin. Wes spluttered and waved him off. "Are you going to ask her out or what?" Wes didn't answer. "She's a beautiful girl, you know. Sooner or later another guy will snatch her up and you'll miss your chance." Wes remained silent. David sighed. Then he caught Blaine's confused yet curious expression and grinned. "Oh! Sorry, Blaine. Addison is this girl Wes is head over heels in love with, but he refuses to do anything about it."

"That is not true!" Wes said with a glare at his friend. David just laughed.

"Whatever floats your boat, mate."

"Hey." Nick suddenly appeared and sat down beside Blaine, slightly out of breath like he had been running. "So, what are we talking about?"

"How much of a waste it is to love someone, but not act on your feelings," David said with a knowing look at both Wes and Nick. Wes glared at him again while Nick just flushed.

"Great! Uhm, breakfast." Nick stood up and went to stand in line to get some food. David just shook his head.

"They're impossible sometimes," he said to Blaine.

"I'm still here, you know. I can hear you," Wes said and looked up from his phone.

"Oh, I know."

"Hi, guys," Jeff said as he sat down with an apple in his hand. "What are we talking about?"

David gave Wes a sly grin, but replied, "Nothing special."

"So, I was thinking we should have an open stage next practise so that everyone could sing what they wanted," Wes suddenly said.

David and Jeff rolled their eyes. "He's talking about the Warblers," Jeff told Blaine.

Blaine frowned. "The what?"

"The Warblers. The song choir at Dalton. Wes, David and a guy named Thad are part of the council, so Wes tend to talk about it a lot. Me, Nick and Trent are members as well," Jeff explained.

Blaine blinked in surprise. "You have a song choir?"

"Yes. Do you want to join?" Wes asked eagerly. "New members are always welcome. Can you sing?"

"Woah, Wes, slow down. Don't overwhelm the poor guy. He just got here," David said with a laugh at his friend's enthusiasm. Wes smiled apologetically.

"Sorry," he said sheepishly.

Blaine smiled a bit and nodded. Nick returned to their table with a bowl of cereal. He shot Jeff a grin and sat down beside him.

"Did I miss anything?"

"Blaine just found out about the Warblers," Jeff said.

"Ah, did Wes pester you to join?"

"Hey!"

Blaine laughed and the others just smiled softly. "I wouldn't say pester, but he _did_ ask."

"Why am I not surprised?" Nick grinned as Wes pouted.

"I don't _always_ talk about the Warblers, and I most definitely do _not_ pester people to join!"

"Whatever you say, Wes."

The bell rang and they all stood up, Nick quickly shoving his breakfast into his mouth, and left for their respective classes. Blaine followed Wes and David towards the social studies classroom while Nick and Jeff left for their English class. The day went by pretty quickly. By lunch time Wes was smiling broadly because he had a feeling that he had nailed his chemistry test, and Nick just smiled encouragingly at him while David shot him an _'I told you so'_ look. Before he knew it, Blaine was standing in his dorm room, talking with Matt about their days, and laughing happily when his roommate told him about a particularly funny incident. Matt just smiled gently at him.

"So." Matt sat down heavily on the desk chair and propped his feet up on his bed. Blaine ran a hand through his unruly curls. He had a feeling that Matt would bring up his nightmare, and was very surprised when he said, "Don't you get tired of all the hair in your face?"

Blaine looked up and couldn't help but bark out a laugh. "What?"

"It's just that you always run your hand through it like you're trying to push it out of the way, but never really manage to since it's so big."

"I'm not trying to push it out of the way. It's just something that I do, I guess." Blaine shrugged.

"So, it's like a nervous habit?"

"A nervous habit?"

"You're trying to get the attention away from your face, so you use your body to do that. In this case, your hair."

Blaine frowned a bit. "That sounds probable. I've never really thought of it that way."

"Hey, I'm sure everyone has something that they do unconsciously. My mom always says that I chew on my pen when I'm trying to concentrate on my studies."

Blaine grinned. "I actually noticed that."

"See! You always notice little quirks that other people have, but never your own."

Blaine chuckled and turned his head towards the corner of the room.

"I also notice that you stare at your guitar a lot, but I've never heard you play," Matt continued as Blaine involuntarily looked at the instrument. He snapped his gaze back to his roommate. Matt smiled a bit. Blaine bit his lip.

"I guess I always look at it when I need some sort of comfort or…just whenever I don't know where to look. Or when I feel something really strongly." Blaine had no idea why he was telling Matt these things, but he couldn't stop. "And right now I'm feeling so overwhelmingly scared of everything that I don't know what to do. But having this casual conversation with you made me feel something that was almost close to welcoming. So I just had to look at it. I couldn't _not_ look at it."

Matt listened to him in silence as Blaine continued.

"And I know you want to bring up the nightmare, I know that. But I just can't talk about it because it's too painful. They're not just nightmares, they're memories. Memories of the past. The past that made me transfer here. And sometimes I have to look at my guitar because, even though it brings back memories too, it was my only friend for a while." Blaine paused to take two deep breaths. "And now I'm telling you this and I'm sure you don't even care and you want to switch roommates which is totally understandable-" This time Matt did cut him off.

"Blaine. Blaine, stop." He held up his hand. "Blaine, you're rambling."

Blaine snapped his mouth shut and avoided Matt's eyes. Matt leaned closer to him with a reassuringly smile.

"I do not want to switch roommates. I'm pretty content with the one I have."

"But I'm so messed up," Blaine mumbled.

"You're not messed up. Sure, you've had some problems in the past. I'm here if you wanna talk about them, or if you _don't_ wanna talk about them. I'm always here. I won't leave because of whatever happened before you came here. I'm just glad you finally started talking about it at least a little bit. I know you've just been here two days, but I have a feeling you don't talk about this that much."

Blaine nodded. "The only person I've ever talked to is my brother."

"You talk to him because you know you can trust him, right?" At Blaine's nod he continued. "Well, then think of me as a smaller version of your brother. Everett was it? You can trust me. Me and the rest of the Dalton guys. Wes, David, Nick, Jeff. All of them. We all came here for specific reasons. The main one is that we don't judge people because of who they are or whatever's happened to them. We won't judge you, Blaine. Quite the opposite actually, we want to help you."

Blaine swallowed the lump in his throat and finally met Matt's gaze. Matt smiled gently and gave his knee a small pat.

"So, you're not messed up. Just…broken. And we're going to fix you. I promise."

**A/N:**

**So, what do you think? I'm actually really content with this chapter. It's probably my favourite so far.**

**What do you think of Matt? Personally I would do anything for a friend like him. Or a boyfriend for that matter *wink wink* Nah, I think I'll stick with Darren.**

**Btw, I don't know what drove me to let Blaine open up to Matt in this chapter. Matt just seems really trustable.**

**Review?**

**/xo Natassa**


	5. One of us

"Hey, Blaine. Blaine, wait up." Blaine turned around at the staircase that led to one of his classes and was met by Wes' grinning face.

"Hey," he mumbled and walked aside so he wouldn't be in anyone's way.

"So, the Warblers are having this party tomorrow night – it's nothing big, I promise – and we were wondering if you wanted to come?"

"But I'm not a Warbler," Blaine replied warily.

"Oh, that's no problem. Scott's not a Warbler either and he'll attend. He's a good friend of ours so of course we invited him. The same thing stands for you." Wes smiled kindly and Blaine felt sort of obliged to accept the invitation. Those guys had been nothing but friendly towards him, which Blaine knew was not a simple task. He might have just been at Dalton for four days, but they still considered him a friend. He just couldn't decline this one.

"Sure, I'll be there. What time?" he found himself asking. Wes' smile grew so wide Blaine thought his mouth would split.

"Great! It's at eight, but we can meet you at your dorm if you want. It's in the big common room. The principal has agreed on letting us have this little, uhm, event, but, I quote, _without any liquid that will make you forget what you love and later on regret what you did_. I swear that man is so old fashioned. But anyway, no alcohol, so you won't have to worry about that."

Blaine nodded. "Uh, what will we be doing all evening?"

"A couple of games, probably some dancing. Just have a good time. Try to let loose a bit and really welcome the new school year. It might be in the middle of October, but the teachers loaded us with so much work we never got the chance to celebrate for real. But they took it rather cool with the assignments this past week, so we're not letting this chance pass."

"Wait, this is the teachers _'taking it cool'_?" Blaine asked, eyes widening.

Wes laughed. "Unfortunately. But don't worry, if you ever need help we're more than happy to do so."

Blaine gave a weak smile. "Thanks. Really."

"Hey, it's no problem. So, Friday night?"

"Friday night."

***Line break***

"Are you sure you don't wanna come?" Blaine asked, desperation obvious in his voice.

"Blaine, they didn't ask me. I can't just show up," Matt replied as he straightened his tie.

"But I'm sure they wouldn't mind."

"They might not mind, but you need to get to know them without me. If I'm there you'll probably spend the entire night hiding behind me. They want to be your friends, Blaine. Give them a chance."

Blaine sighed in surrender. "I guess you're right… But you're getting dressed up. Where are you going?"

"You're not the only one going to a party," Matt said with a wink. "Don't worry. I'll be back before curfew." He grabbed his keys from the desk and looked at Blaine once more. "Try to have fun tonight, alright?"

"Yes, _mom_."

Matt grinned. "Good boy. I'll see you tonight." And he left the room.

Blaine sat down on his bed and looked around absentmindedly. He and Matt had really gotten closer since their little talk, something Blaine was actually happy about. One of his biggest worries when he transferred to Dalton was his roommate. It turns out he's rather cool.

A knock on the door made him jump slightly and his head shot up.

"Blaine? Blaine, it's us. Are you ready to go?"

Blaine stood up and skipped to the door to reveal Wes and David. He smiled weakly in greeting.

"I'm ready," he said and locked the door. The two boys smiled and gestured for him to follow them.

"So," David said and stretched his arms. "Excited?"

Blaine shrugged. "I guess."

"It's going to be so much fun!" Wes said enthusiastically. Blaine couldn't help but laugh. Maybe this night wouldn't be so bad after all.

When they reached the common room Blaine couldn't hold back a surprised gasp. The light was dimmed and all the couches had been pushed aside and lined up by the walls, and frankly, Blaine had no idea how _big_ the common rooms at Dalton were. Several tables were covered with different drinks – alcohol free, thank you very much – and a lot of delicious-looking desserts and snacks. A DJ stall had been set up and a boy Blaine didn't know the name of was in full swing of choosing the songs.

"Wow," he breathed out. Wes laughed and threw his arms around him.

"Impressive, huh?"

Blaine nodded dumbly as he looked around. Someone slapped him hard on his shoulder and he turned around in alarm just as Scott threw his arm around Blaine's other side.

"'Sup, Anderson," he greeted.

"Scott, don't sneak up on people like that," David reprimanded him. Scott just shrugged.

"Sorry." He looked over at the DJ booth and grinned widely. "Hey, Wilson! Is this a party or an assembly? Where's the real music?"

The boy looked up and just rolled his eyes with a laugh. "Shut up, Reyson."

"No, but seriously Flint. Let's get this party started already."

Flint mock-saluted. "Yes, sir!"

"So, how's your first week at Dalton been then?" Scott said and looked at Blaine who had withdrawn himself from Scott and Wes' embraces.

Blaine shrugged. "It's been good."

"I bet this little party will loosen you up," Scott said with a grin. A grin that made both Wes and David look at him warily.

"Scott, what did you do?" David asked carefully.

"Oh, nothing. But you can't have a party without some booze, right?"

"_Did you spike the drinks?"_

"Of course not! I have more class than that. I brought my own." He pointed at a plastic bag next to Flint who just grinned at them.

"Do you know how much trouble you'll get us into if anyone finds out about this?" David exclaimed.

"Relax, Sullivan. Who's going to tell? Besides, if I'm with you, you won't get in trouble." He patted David on the shoulder and departed. David shook his head with a sigh.

"He's going to be the death of us, I swear."

Jeff appeared next to them with Nick by his side.

"So, I heard Scott is making your lives harder once again," Jeff remarked.

"Hello to you, too."

Jeff grinned. "Touchy."

David shook his head. "Let's just focus on having a good time. If we stay sober, nothing bad will happen, right?"

***Line break***

"This is the best party ever!" David roared as he downed his third beer can. Wes was giggling like a madman, clutching onto his friend to not fall from the table they were standing on. Jeff was dancing with himself not far away from them.

Blaine snorted. "Sober they said."

"Are you not drinking?" Nick asked as he sat down next to him on one of the couches.

Blaine shook his head.

Nick smiled. "Me neither. Who knows what I would say if I did," he added, looking horrified.

Blaine chuckled. "Are you a rambling drunk?"

Nick nodded. "Unfortunately. I ramble about _anything_. You don't wanna witness that."

"Actually, I would really like to," Blaine said with a grin.

Nick nudged him playfully. "What kind of drunk are you?"

Blaine frowned. "Uh, happy drunk. Kind of like Wes and Jeff, whatever he's doing." They both threw a glance at the blonde boy who was now in the middle of punching the living life out of a pillow.

Nick smiled fondly. "Yeah, he gets kind of crazy when he's drunk. Well, crazier than usual."

Blaine laughed and leaned his head back so that he was staring at the ceiling. "Do you think we'll get caught?"

"By the teachers? Nah, if we're really careful we might get away with it."

Blaine continued staring at the same spot. "I just really don't wanna get in trouble on my first week."

"Totally understandable. Do you want us to start breaking it off? It's almost curfew."

Blaine nodded. "We should get them in bed before anyone notices."

They both heaved themselves up and walked over to the sober Warblers to ask for help. It turns out it was a bit harder than expected.

"Come on, Wes. Get down from the table!" Nick scolded as he gripped his friend's leg. "It's time to go to bed."

"No!"

"Addison is waiting for you in your room."

That caught Wes' attention. "Addison?"

"Yes. She's not a fan of waiting."

Wes quickly jumped down from the furniture and skipped towards the door.

"And take David with you!"

Scott appeared out of nowhere and started spraying them with beer.

"_Scott!"_

"Stop!"

"Stop screaming! Someone will hear us!"

"Everyone, _shut up!_"

"What's going on here?"

All heads snapped up as Michael Burke entered the room, a stern look covering his face. No one dared to move, let alone breathe.

"When I ask a question I expect an answer. Anyone? Wes?" Even in his drunk state Wes still understood the seriousness of this situation. He looked down in shame. "Oh, well then. David?" David lowered his gaze as well. "No? I suppose a trip to the principal's office will loosen you all up. Go. Now!"

They all hurried out of the room, avoiding the elder man's gaze and walked towards Mr Stuart's office. Blaine felt slightly dizzy. He had never been in trouble before. Despite the fact that he didn't drink anything, he had a huge urge to throw up.

***Line break***

"Wait, can you repeat that?"

Blaine winced. "They forbid us from leaving campus for the next two weeks, weekends included."

"Oh, _Blaine._"

"Hey, you told me to try to have fun and that's what I did. It's not my fault that alcohol was involved," Blaine defended himself.

He heard Everett sigh. "I know, I know. You're just lucky mom and dad are on a business trip and I'll be able to cover up for you."

"And for that I'm forever in your debt." He could practically feel Everett rolling his eyes.

"I'm actually surprised it took you 16 years to get in trouble. I _caused_ trouble when I was like 3."

"Well, I'm the angel in the family."

"Not anymore, are you?" Everett said with a grin.

Blaine chuckled. "It's a one time thing, Ev. Come on, you can't hold this against me."

"Alright, alright. So wait, you're actually serious about the part where you didn't drink?"

"Yes."

"I can't believe we're related."

Blaine barked out a laugh. "I have to go. I think Matt is getting tired of my voice."

"Oh, not at all. Hi, Everett!"

Everett laughed. "Hi, Matt!" he shouted back.

"I have a feeling you two would be best friends," Blaine mumbled and shook his head. "Anyway, bye Everett. Thanks again."

"Don't mention it, little brother. I'll call you tomorrow. Love you."

"Love you, too. Bye." They hung up and Blaine put his phone down on the bedside table.

"So, I take it it's a good thing I didn't attend the party, then?"

Blaine chuckled. "I wish I was as lucky. We were breaking the party off. Couldn't he have showed up ten minutes later?"

Matt laughed. "I guess fate isn't on your side tonight."

"Yeah. Or ever." Blaine settled himself under the covers and stifled a yawn. "I'm so glad it's Saturday tomorrow. And with this new punishment thing, I don't even have to leave my bed!"

"I thought you weren't allowed to leave campus, not your dorm."

"I'll use it as an excuse."

"Keep dreaming, Blainey. I'll be here to annoy you!"

"Please don't."

"Too late. Moahahaha!" Matt actually brought his hands together, impersonating a mad professor.

Blaine raised an eyebrow before shaking his head. "I'm not even going to ask."

Matt grinned at him. "Did you at least have fun?"

"Well, before everyone started getting_ really_ wasted, we had some quite entertaining conversations. But I had fun just watching them. Though Nick didn't drink either, so I spent most of the night with him."

"That's good. At least you got a bit closer to them, right?"

"Yeah, I like to think I did." Blaine smiled at him before shifting to lie on his back. "I'm going to sleep now."

"Way to end a conversations. 'I'm going to sleep now'. Manners, Blaine."

Blaine laughed sleepily. "Goodnight, Matt."

***Line break***

"I'm so bored!" Wes complained and pressed his face into his pillow. "I can't believe we're not allowed to go out. It's Saturday for crying out loud!"

"Like you would've gone out anyway," David said as he typed something on his laptop.

"I might've not, but the knowledge that I _can't_ is driving me insane."

David rolled his eyes while Blaine just shook his head in amusement. Matt had actually kept his promise and _did_ annoy Blaine until the younger boy excused himself and ran towards Wes and David's room, banging on the door until they let him in, looking surprised yet pleased by his sudden appearance.

The door burst open and Jeff ran inside with Trent at his heels.

"Guys! Trent said I kissed Nick last night. I can't remember anything. Please tell me it isn't true," Jeff said in a rush.

They all looked at Trent who grinned wickedly before disappearing from the room again. Jeff made a whining sound of distress when no one answered.

"Oh, God. I did, didn't I? I've destroyed everything! How could I be so stupid?"

"Woah, Jeff, relax. No, you did not kiss Nick last night. Believe me; we would've noticed if you did. This is just Trent's way of messing with you," David said. "I thought you knew better by now than to believe him."

Jeff sighed in relief. "I really drank way too much than I should have. I woke up with the biggest hangover ever. I wouldn't be surprised if I did something last night since I don't remember how I even got back to the room."

Wes chuckled. "Have you heard of our punishment?"

Jeff nodded. "Trent informed me."

"And it _sucks_, doesn't it? I'm so bored." Wes slumped back onto his bed with a dramatic sigh. "Damn that Scott. I thought he said we wouldn't get in trouble."

"Well, on the bright side, he's not allowed to go out either," David said in an attempted to be cheerful tone.

"It suits him right."

They sat in silence for a moment, each lost in their own thoughts. Blaine suddenly found himself wishing he had his guitar there, just so that he could distract his hands with something.

The door flew open for the second time that day and Nick came sprinting.

"Jeff! Whatever they tell you, don't believe them!_ Nothing_ happened last night!"

Wes and David burst out laughing while Jeff just smiled awkwardly. Blaine was watching the entire scene in amusement once again.

"I know, Nicky. They told me."

Nick froze, a dark shade of red covering his face. "Oh. Well then. I guess all is fine. I should go." He turned to leave again, but Wes, still laughing, grabbed his hand and dragged him back.

"No, don't go. We need you here, Nicky."

Nick gave him a glare for the nickname, but sat down next to him on the bed with a sigh.

David finally managed to calm down and leaned into Jeff's side, wiping a tear from his eye. "That was hilarious!"

Nick groaned. "Can we just forget about it?"

Wes grinned. "Nope."

Nick crossed his arms. Blaine looked at him curiously and Nick caught his eye. Blaine raised an eyebrow. Nick flushed and looked away.

"Change of subject!" Jeff suddenly exclaimed and turned to Blaine. "So, Blaine. Tell us a bit about yourself."

"Uh, what do you want to know?" Blaine asked, uncertain.

"What's your favourite colour?"

"Blue."

"Siblings?"

"One older brother."

"Cats or dogs?"

"Uhm, dogs."

"That was the lamest question ever, Wesley."

"Shut up, David."

That resulted in David pouncing on his friend, both of them falling to the floor and rolling around while the room filled with screams and laughter. Blaine, happy that the attention wasn't on him anymore, watched them in amusement along with Jeff and Nick.

"Ow! Stop! Stop! That hurts. Ow! Stop!"

"How about we just get some lunch?"

"Sounds good."

***Line break***

Blaine was walking down the corridor with Wes, David, Nick and Jeff on their way to their dorms when Matt skipped over to them, slightly out of breath.

"Blaine! Thank God I found you!"

"What happened? What did you do?"

"I like that you think that I _did_ something."

Blaine rolled his eyes. "What's up?"

"I have a date tonight. Well, a Skype date really, but a date nevertheless."

"…and?"

"And I need you to be out of the room for a couple of hours. You won't want to see what might come out of this," Matt said with a wink. Blaine glared at him in disgust.

"Too much information, Matt. _Way_ too much information."

Matt laughed. "So, do we have a deal?"

Blain sighed. "I'll be back by curfew, so make sure you have…settled down until then."

Matt grinned. "I will! Thanks Blaine. You're the best. Have fun tonight!" The older boy departed and Blaine turned to the others.

"I just got kicked out of my own room," he grumbled.

Wes laughed. "Hey, you can hang with us. Maybe we can watch a movie or something? Curfew is in three hours anyway."

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea," Blaine said with a nod.

20 minutes later they had settled in Wes and David's room with a bowl of popcorn and the first Lord of the Ring movie was playing on David's laptop. Nick unconsciously snuggled into Jeff's side.

"I love this movie," he whispered.

"I know," Jeff replied with a grin. Nick rolled his eyes.

Wes and David threw knowing glances at the two of them, but they didn't seem to notice. Blaine smiled to himself. _How oblivious could you get?_

He made it through half the movie before he zoned out. He only woke up when a hand shook his shoulder carefully. He jolted and lifted his head from the pillow he had been sleeping on and looked up. David was smiling warmly at him.

"Huh?" he slurred sleepily.

"Sorry to wake you, but it's almost curfew and you said you would go back to your dorm then," he said quietly.

Blaine blinked a couple of times before letting his head fall back down again. He heard a couple of chuckles and realized that _oh,_ _he had fallen asleep in another dorm room with people he just recently started calling friends. Great. That's not embarrassing at all._

He heaved himself into a sitting position, letting out a tired, "Ugh," and rubbed at his eyes. He glanced to his left and found Nick fast asleep on Jeff's shoulder, the blonde boy absently playing with his hair. Jeff shot Blaine a quick grin when he caught his eye.

Blaine blinked again before standing up. "I, uh, I should go. Matt probably misses me dreadfully," he said with a roll of his eyes.

Wes laughed. "We'll see you tomorrow, Blaine."

Blaine nodded. "See you." And he left for his own dorm room which thankfully was just a couple of doors away.

"Matt, whatever you're doing in there you should know that I'm coming in now. Okay? Good. Here I come." He opened the door tentatively and peeked inside. Matt had fallen asleep with his laptop on his knees. Blaine quietly stalked over to him and put the laptop on the desk and threw the covers over his roommate. Then he proceeded with changing into his pyjamas and crawling into his own bed. Boy, was he tired. But of course he had to speculate over the day before he could relax. Today had been a good day, to be honest. Maybe transferring to Dalton wasn't such a bad idea after all? Maybe opening up to people was even better? Before he could think any more about it he had drifted into a heavy sleep.

**A/N:**

**So, this chapter is the longest one so far. Yay! **

**Can you see the way Blaine is changing? Do you think he'll open up completely or stay in his shell?**

**Any kind of feedback would be excellent. You're all winsome* (*raise your hand if you know what fic I'm referring to here) Love you all!**

**/xo Natassa**


	6. Invisible

**Firstly I want to thank you all for the amazing feedback you've given me. You're all wonderful.**

**Now, on to the story.**

**Trigger warning: Contains self-harm.**

***Line break***

"Can't you stay invisible for a week? Can't you do that, Blaine? Can't you stay out of trouble and stop being such a brat for once in your life?"

Blaine clenched his fists, the feeling of his fingernails in his palm calming him.

"Can't you just stop being such a disappointment? I'm ashamed to call you my son." *Click*

Blaine exhaled a shaky breath and fell limply to the floor. His dad had left him a voicemail late last night. Somehow he had found out about the party and did not miss a chance to tell him off.

"I'm always invisible," he whispered to the empty room. With shaking legs he managed to stand up and walk into the bathroom. He avoided looking at the mirror. He knew he would just feel worse if he did. He started rummaging through the drawers and finally found what he was looking for. He sat down on the cold bathroom floor and leaned his back to the sink. He swallowed thickly as he pressed the old well-used razor to his wrist. The first tears escaped just as the red liquid started trickling down his arm. He felt the pressure leaving his body as he used all his focus at the old habit he had built two years ago when everything seemed to be too much. He always felt better afterwards.

He stared at the wound for a moment before throwing the razor away from him with a start. This wasn't who he was. He was ashamed of doing it, but he couldn't stop. He felt so disgusted with himself. He grabbed some paper to stop the bleeding and rested his head on his knees. He was crying harder now, unable to do otherwise. He hugged himself tightly.

"I'm not good enough," he said through his sobs. "I'm a disappointment."

He spent the rest of the afternoon there. The blood and tears eventually stopped, but he didn't move. He was so exhausted. He just wanted to fall asleep and never wake up.

"Blaine? Blaine, are you here?" Matt's voice said as a light knock came from outside. "Do you wanna go and get dinner?"

Blaine finally lifted his head, the muscles in his neck protesting awfully, and looked at the locked door. Matt started sounding more and more concerned, and Blaine knew he should assure him that he was okay, but he couldn't find his voice. So he kept quiet until his roommate announced that he would bring him some food before leaving, with a promise that he would always be there for him.

Blaine let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and fell to the floor again. He closed his eyes tightly, forcing himself not to think or feel anything. That was the first of many nights he fell asleep on the bathroom floor with a piece of paper pressed to his wrist.

***Line break***

"I'm so happy our punishment is over," Wes exclaimed as the last class of the day ended and they were finally able to leave campus. "This needs a celebration."

"Wasn't it a celebration that got us in trouble in the first place?" Jeff asked and squinted at the early November sun.

"Well, at least we can spend the afternoon outside," David said as they sat down on a bench in the schoolyard.

"Not all the afternoon, though," Wes said. "We still have Warblers practise."

The others rolled their eyes. Nick glanced at Blaine who was sitting at the edge of the bench, looking tired and clutching the hem of his blazer. He had been pretty down all day. He was more quiet than usual and that worried Nick a bit. Surely he felt comfortable enough with them to let loose at least a little bit. But there he was, acting exactly like he had three weeks ago. Something had happened that made him even more reserved, but Nick knew Blaine wouldn't confide in anyone about it, and that made him worry about the other boy. He looked at Jeff who was examining Blaine with the same anxious expression. He caught his eye and they both knew they were thinking the same thing. Blaine needed to know that he could trust them. He needed to talk or he'd bottle everything up and eventually explode. Nick knew from experience that that was an awful thing.

"Are you sure you don't want to join, Blaine?" Wes asked and turned to the quiet boy. He looked a little out of place as he glanced up at them.

"Yeah, I'm sure," he mumbled and turned his gaze to his lap again.

"Come on. It would be fun," Wes prompted. The others agreed. Joining the Warblers would be good for him, but convincing him was another story.

Blaine shook his head stubbornly. Wes sighed in defeat.

"Alright, alright."

Blaine bit his lip and clenched his fists. He could feel the other's gazes on him, but he kept his eyes on the ground.

"Are you okay?" came Nick's soft voice. Blaine just nodded. He knew that they had noticed something was wrong, but he was not ready to talk about it. Not now. Not ever.

***Line break***

"This is great," David muttered as he stuffed a handful of popcorn into his mouth. "Absolutely amazing."

They were all currently in Blaine's room, – Matt's demand – watching a movie. A horror movie. An awfully scary horror movie. Not their best idea.

"Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God," Nick repeated silently from his place on Blaine's left. Blaine felt his heart speed up and he suddenly got the urge to strangle David who kept up with his enthusiastic mood. Apparently he loved these types of movies.

"Don't go in there!" Wes exclaimed. "You're going to get killed. What are you doing?"

Jeff's sudden scream made them all jump more than the movie scene did.

"Oh my God! Jeff!" Wes shouted and paused the movie. "Are you trying to give us a heart attack or something?"

Jeff peeked out from where he had hidden his face on Nick's shoulder and gave a sheepish smile. "Sorry. I couldn't help it."

"That's it. No more horror movies for us," Wes said and glared at David.

David held up his hands. "In my defence Matt wanted to watch it as well," he said and pointed to the older boy who had fallen asleep on the bed.

Wes rolled his eyes. "That much for watching."

Blaine closed his eyes and relaxed in his seat. He had never really liked scary movies. He exhaled shakily and leaned his head back.

"Woah, is that-? Blaine, you never told us you could play the guitar." Wes' voice brought him back to reality.

He glanced over at where he was standing, admiring the instrument with a pleased expression.

"I guess I didn't think it was that big of a deal," Blaine said with a shrug.

"Not many of the Warblers actually do more than sing and dance," Wes explained.

Blaine nodded slowly. David jumped into the conversation.

"Could you play for us?" he asked, eyes hopeful.

"No…I couldn't…" Blaine mumbled.

"Oh, come on. Please?" The others joined in.

"I don't know…" Blaine rubbed the back of his neck.

"Please?"

Blaine sighed. "Fine." He walked over to the guitar and positioned himself on his bed. He slowly started strumming on the strings, creating a calm melody. He did not sing, but playing seemed to be enough to impress them. They grinned widely at him when he returned the instrument to its original place.

"Now you simply must join the Warblers," Wes stated. "That was amazing."

Blaine laughed embarrassedly. "Thanks."

"You better not be a great singer, because then I'm afraid Wesley will fall in love with you," Jeff teased.

Wes rolled his eyes. "Oh, ha ha. Very funny, _Jeffrey_."

Jeff just grinned.

David yawned. "I think we should leave now. It's late and I'm sure Blaine wants to sleep."

Wes nodded in agreement and they all bid their friend goodnight. Blaine gave them a weak smile before closing the door and quickly hopping under his covers. He shifted tiredly until he was feeling comfortable and relaxed. A voice in the dark startled him.

"You know, you're adorable when you're embarrassed."

Blaine groaned. "Shut up, Matt."

***Line break***

Blaine was walking in the halls of Dalton, feeling a bit lost. Even after almost a month at this school he still had some trouble finding his way. He tiredly turned a corner and groaned in frustration. He had no idea where he was.

"Great, just great," he said loudly and leaned his back on the wall. He was_ not_ going to call someone. That would just be embarrassing.

He ran a hand through his hair and turned his gaze upwards. Maybe if he took some minutes to collect himself he would feel better.

"Need some help there?"

With a start he looked towards the intruder. Or savior. However you saw it.

The boy was tall. Probably taller than Jeff. His light brown hair was framing his face perfectly and made his green eyes stand out. Blaine let his eyes roam over his torso and-wow. He was beautiful. And waiting for him to answer. Oh.

"What?" Blaine said dumbly. The boy smiled. Oh my, that smile was to die for.

"I asked if you needed help." His voice was even more beautiful the second time he heard it.

"I, uh, yes. I-I'm lost," Blaine choked out with a sheepish smile. Smooth, real smooth.

"Where are you going to?"

"Mr Bernad's history class."

"Well, let me help you get there. If we hurry up you might be in time." He gestured for Blaine to follow him. "I'm Aaron, by the way. Aaron Palmer." He held out a hand for Blaine to take. Blaine did.

"Blaine Anderson."

**A/N:**

**A turn of events from the beginning of this chapter, right? I hope you liked it. I would've updated earlier, but my computer's not working. I got time to finish this just now. What did you think?**

**Review?**

**/xo Natassa**


	7. Just a song

No, Blaine Anderson was absolutely _not_ infatuated with the tall, blonde boy who had helped him find his way to class. That was definitely not the case. He was just…grateful. Yeah, that's it. He was grateful that he'd helped him and now he had to smile whenever he saw or thought of him. There was nothing more to it.

But why did he find himself asking his roommate about this mysterious Aaron Palmer?

"Aaron? He's a junior, so he's in most of my classes. I've never really talked to him, but he's rather nice. Why are you asking?" Matt looked at him questioning.

"Oh, I, uh, he helped me when I got lost some days ago. He helped me to class, so, um, I just wanted to know a bit more about him, I guess," Blaine stammered out.

Matt hummed and raised an eyebrow at Blaine's flustered expression, but didn't comment on it, and went back to whatever he had been doing on his laptop. Blaine let out a relieved sigh.

No, he was absolutely _not_ lying to himself. He did not feel anything for Aaron except gratefulness. Definitely not.

***Line break***

"Oh my, God. He's so hot," Nick blurted out and hugged the pillow he was holding closer to his chest. Jeff snorted.

"Seriously, _that's_ the kind of guy you're looking for?" he asked and pointed to the actor that was currently doing some kind of stunt on the screen. Nick frowned at him.

"Have you seen him? He's a sex god."

"I have to agree," Blaine said without thinking. He froze and turned to his friends. Nick was smiling reassuringly at him, Jeff was looking at him in disgust and Wes and David hadn't even reacted. It was like they didn't even care that he had kind of just accidentally come out to them.

"Not you too!" Jeff exclaimed. "You have no taste in men," he said and held his head high.

David snickered. "And you do? I thought you were 'straight'."

"I am, but I can appreciate the eye candy of the mankind, and _he_," He pointed to the screen again. "is definitely not what I would pine after."

"And what kind of guy would be?" Wes asked, interested.

"Oh, you know, dark haired, rather shorter than me, beautiful glittering eyes…" Jeff rambled on, not even realizing that he was describing his best friend. Wes raised an eyebrow while David grinned at a bright red Nick.

"Anyway," Jeff continued. "I know from years of experience that it's impossible to change Nick's mind when it comes to this, but Blaine, what the hell do you see in this guy?"

"Um, he, uh, I don't know. He's good looking," Blaine mumbled.

"So are a lot of guys in this school, but I've never seen you go after them. Admit it, you just like him because he's a successful actor."

"That's not it at all. First of all, I did not say I liked him, just that I thought he was good looking. Second, I haven't really found the right guy here, you know," Blaine said, a sudden burst of courage pouring over him. He could do this. He could come out to his friends properly.

"Oh, well, you'll have lots of time for that in your life," Nick said and turned back to the movie. Jeff shook his head as Nick melted when the main character appeared on the screen again. Wes and David smiled reassuringly at Blaine when he caught their eyes.

Blaine shot them a wholeheartedly smile back.

***Line break***

_The day I first met you_

_You told me you'd never fall in love_

Blaine sang quietly to himself. He was walking around restlessly in his dorm room, feeling too giddy to sit still.

_But now that I get you_

_I know fear is what it really was_

He tossed one of his shirts onto his bed and turned back to his desk.

_Now here we are, so close, yet so far_

_How did I pass the test?_

_When will you realize?_

Blaine jumped on the bed and sang as loud as he could.

_Baby I'm not like the rest_

_Don't wanna break your heart_

_Wanna give your heart a break_

_I know you're scared it's wrong_

_Like you might make a mistake_

_There's just one life to live_

_And there's no time to waste, to waste_

_So let me give your heart a break_

_Give your heart a break_

_Let me give your heart a break_

_Your heart a break_

_Oh, yeah yeah_

He fell down on his bed with a dreamy sigh. That's when he heard someone clapping and he turned his gaze to the door. Matt was watching him with a grin covering his face.

"Bravo," he said with a laugh. "I must say, you do have a great singing voice. What a show."

He winked at him and Blaine grabbed his pillow and buried his face into it. He heard Matt snicker.

"So," Matt said and sat down on his bed. "Whose heart do you want to give a break to?"

"What? N-no one. It's just a song," Blaine mumbled.

"Uh huh. Sure."

"It's just a song," Blaine insisted.

"I never said it wasn't."

Blaine knew Matt wasn't convinced, but at least he was nice enough to let it go. For now.

**A/N:**

**Hey guys! I'm leaving for Spain on Sunday and then for Greece next Saturday. I won't be back until July 19****th****. That means I won't have any access to internet (CREYS).**

**I know that this chapter was very short and nothing really happened, but I really wanted to update before I leave and I haven't really got much time to write, so you're gonna have to settle with this for a while. The good news is that I'll probably spend a lot of time writing when I'm gone, so I'll give you a longer chapter when I get back.**

**I hope you enjoyed it! Thank you so much for your reviews, story alerts and putting this in your favorites. It means a lot. Love you!**

**The song is Give Your Heart a Break by Demi Lovato**

**/xo Natassa**


	8. Camera shy

**Hello! I'm back from Greece, and I thought it was time to update this story. A new OC will be introduced, and some songs will be sung. I hope you will enjoy!**

***Line break***

"Hey, Aaron. Aaron? Hello? Earth to Aaron." Cameron Baker waved his hand in front of his friend's face, frowning when he didn't react. "_Aaron_!"

"Huh? What?" Aaron snapped his head up, looking around in confusion. "What is it?"

"What it is? I've been trying to get your attention for hours here, man!" Cameron exclaimed.

Aaron raised an eyebrow. "Hours?"

"Okay, maybe not hours. But at least for a minute. You were totally zoned out."

"Oh, uh, I guess I have a lot on my mind."

"Care to let me in on your worries?"

"They're not really worries, I just…It's complicated."

"Whatever it is, I'm here, okay? Whenever you're ready."

Aaron smiled. "Thanks, Cam."

"Anytime. But I have to ask." Cameron scooted closer to him on the couch. "Is this about a guy?"

Aaron looked away immediately, making Cameron grin.

"It is, isn't it? Oh, Cam. That's not a complication; you're just making it one."

"I thought you said you'd wait until I was ready," Aaron mumbled and shot him a look.

"I thought it'd be this huge secret that it'd take forever for you to tell me, but apparently it's just a crush."

"It's not a crush," Aaron protested. "I just met this guy and I find him rather interesting."

"Who is it? Do I know him?"

"I don't think so. His name's Blaine Anderson. He's new. Pretty short, curly hair, rather skittish."

"Oh, yeah, I've seen him. He hangs with Montgomery and Sullivan and those guys, right? And he's Matt's roommate."

"Matt? Matt Turner?"

"That's the one," Cameron said with a nod.

Aaron wringed his hands together, seeming lost in thought again. "Have you ever noticed that he doesn't talk much? And he never makes eye contact unless he really has to."

"I don't know, man. I've never talked to him."

"I met him some days ago. He was lost and I helped him find his way."

"That's a great story to share on your wedding."

Aaron groaned. "Shut up, Cam."

Cameron laughed. "Sorry. I had to."

Aaron rolled his eyes and leaned back on the couch. "He seems rather reserved."

"He's new. Maybe he's just shy."

"Yeah. Shy."

***Line break***

Blaine let his fingers run over the strings of his guitar as he started singing.

_Never made it as a wise man_

_I couldn't cut it as a poor man stealing_

_Tired of living like a blind man_

_I'm sick of sight without a sense of feeling_

_And this is how you remind me_

_This is how you remind me of what I really am_

_This is how you remind me of what I really am_

_It's not like you to say sorry_

_I was waiting on a different story_

_This time I'm mistaken_

_For handing you a heart worth breaking_

_And I've been wrong, I've been down_

_Been to the bottom of every bottle_

_These five words in my head_

_Scream, are we having fun yet?_

_Yet, yet, yet. No no._

_Yet, yet, yet. No no._

He stopped in the middle of the song as he heard a noise behind him, and quickly turned around. All of his friends, including some other boys he hadn't talked to that much, were watching him in awe. Wes was grinning hugely at him and he gulped. He knew choosing the music room to sing in was a bad idea.

"Oh my God, Blaine, you're amazing," Nick breathed out.

"Well, now you just _have_ to join the Warblers," Wes concluded. "In fact, we were just about to start practice."

Blaine backed away slowly, gripping his instrument tightly. "I…no…I can't." He shook his head violently and walked towards the door. "I'm sorry."

He left the room hurriedly and ran to his dorm. Sometimes he really hated himself.

"Well, that went great," David said and sat down on the edge of a couch. Wes looked absolutely devastated.

"He could at least audition," he sighed out.

"It's okay, Wes. We'll find a way to convince him eventually," David comforted him.

Aaron bit his lip. "And I think I know how."

***Line break***

"Yeah, it was horrible. What do you think I did? I ran away as fast as I could, mumbling some weird apologizes. Stop laughing. Ev, I'm serious. No. No, I'm not shy, stop it. Everett!"

Matt quietly listened to Blaine talking to his brother in the bathroom. He adjusted himself on his bed and tried to concentrate on the essay he was currently working on. Blaine's voice kept interrupting his focus. This was not eavesdropping. It wasn't his fault his roommate was yelling into the phone like three meters away from him. It's not that easy to miss.

He quickly started typing on his laptop when Blaine entered the room again. Blaine glanced at him once before sitting down on his own bed, heaving a deep sigh.

"Long day?" Matt asked, not looking at him.

"Yeah," Blaine mumbled back. "Sorry. You must've heard it all. I wasn't really caring about being quiet."

"It's okay. You seemed like you needed to get it out. What actually happened?"

Blaine sighed again. "The whole Glee club caught me singing in the music room today."

"So? It's not like it's _their_ room, you know."

"Yeah, I know. It's just that they asked me if I wanted to join. And I freaked out and left."

"From what I heard you 'ran away, mumbling some weird apologizes', but that's just what I heard," Matt said innocently.

Blaine snorted out a laugh. "Yeah, that's exactly what happened. Just ask your friend."

Matt quirked an eyebrow. "What friend?"

"Aaron. You told me you shared some classes together, you must at least talk sometimes."

"Oh yeah." Matt looked thoughtful for a moment. "I'm friends with Wes, David, Nick, Jeff and a lot of other Warblers. Why did you mention only Aaron?" He glanced at Blaine suspiciously. "In fact, you've been mentioning him a lot lately."

"Uh," Blaine breathed out. "He was the first one to cross my mind, I guess."

"Yeah, I bet."

"I'm tired. I'm going to bed," Blaine suddenly said, crawling under the covers.

"Yeah, at nine in the evening."

"Exactly. Goodnight, Matt."

"Sweet dreams, Blainey."

***Line break***

Jeff was staring at the ceiling in his dorm, looking lost in thought, when Nick entered the room. He stopped dead on his track when he caught sight of his friend.

"Jeff? What's wrong?"

Jeff's head snapped up. "What? Wrong? Nothing's wrong. I'm fine," he rambled.

Nick walked up to the bed and sat down beside him. "Are you sure?" he asked carefully.

"Yeah. I'm fine," Jeff repeated, avoiding his eyes.

Nick raised an eyebrow at Jeff's weird behavior. "Okay?"

"You don't have to worry, Nicky. I just have a lot on my mind."

"You can rely on someone, you know. If it gets too much and you need to talk," Nick said.

Jeff bit his lip and let out a small laugh. "Yeah, of course. If I ever have any problems I'll talk to someone. Thanks, Nick."

Nick frowned, but decided not to push it any further. Jeff would talk to him – or someone else – when he was ready.

He just hoped it wasn't anything too serious.

***Line break***

"Do you really think this will work?" David asked as they got ready in the music room.

"Trust me. I have no idea what I'm doing," Aaron replied.

"Well, that's reassuring," Wes said as he straightened out his tie.

"The worst thing that can happen is him running away again," Nick remarked.

"Anyway, how will we know he will show up?"

"I sent him a text. He should be here any minute now," Jeff said and glanced at the doorway. They didn't have to wait for long. Soon Blaine's curly mass poked into the room.

"Jeff? I got your text. What's wrong?" he asked, looking concerned.

"Oh, nothing, nothing," Jeff reassured him. "We just needed you to come."

Blaine raised an eyebrow and glanced at the rest of the Warblers. "Why?" he asked carefully.

"Because we have a song we want to perform. For you," Aaron piped up.

Blaine's gaze went to him immediately. He bit his lip and looked down again.

"You don't have to do anything. Just sit down and enjoy," Wes said and pushed him down onto a couch.

Blaine sighed and leaned back. "Alright." He folded his arms. "Show me what you've got."

Aaron smiled. "With pleasure."

As they started with the intro Blaine refused to meet anyone's eye. Especially Aaron's.

Wes stepped out of the group and started singing.

_There is no hope for you and me_

'_Cause this long drive might be_

_The last time I take the weal_

_You're not sure how you feel_

Aaron joined Wes for the last three words and then stepped to the front while Wes melted into the background again.

_I take the spotlight_

_It always gives you stage fright_

_Wish this all would end right_

_Wish that you would stop making my head spin_

They all joined in for the pre chorus part.

_Over and over_

_It's over_

_But what if we_

_If we just pretend_

Now it was only Aaron.

_You'll play the love and baby I'll play the lead_

_So strike a pose and fake a smile, you're coming with me_

_I'll strum my guitar 'cause girl I know how you are_

_You're just a little bit camera shy, but you're still a star_

Aaron was now standing right in front of Blaine, pointing at him with a grin. Blaine did everything in his power not to look directly at him.

Aaron stepped back and let David take over.

_This isn't right you said_

_It takes some time you know_

_Let's try again tonight_

_This fight is getting old_

Now it was Nick's turn to take the solo.

_I take the spotlight_

_It always gives you stage fright_

_Wish this all would end right_

_Wish that you would stop making my head spin_

Aaron jumped in again.

_We're young, but old enough to build up_

_For it wasn't false love_

_Wish this all would end_

_I wish this all would end_

_You'll play the love and baby I'll play the lead_

_So strike a pose and fake a smile, you're coming with me_

_I'll strum my guitar 'cause girl I know how you are_

_You're just a little bit camera shy, but you're still a star_

Jeff walked up beside Aaron and sang.

_We're done tonight_

_We've gotta pick it up slowly_

_Can I heard your voice_

_What a perfect story_

Jeff stepped back again and Aaron took over.

_Can I pick you up_

_You can be my star, yeah_

_Now the spotlight's on_

_We're close for the final scene_

The rest of the Warblers repeated the last words in the background.

_Scene_

_The final scene_

_The final scene_

_You'll play the love and baby I'll play the lead_

_So strike a pose and fake a smile, you're coming with me_

_I'll strum my guitar 'cause girl I know how you are_

_You're just a little bit camera shy, but you're still a star_

_You're just a little bit camera shy, but you're still a star_

_You're just a little bit camera shy_

The Warblers finished the song together

_But you're still a star_

They were all quiet for a moment before Aaron walked up to Blaine.

"No matter what you or anyone else thinks, you're a star, Blaine. You were born to perform, I know that. You just need to get out of your shell."

Blaine looked him in the eye for the first time that day. "I don't know…"

"But I do," Aaron replied with a lopsided smile. "At least audition. You'll be glad you did, I promise you."

Blaine swallowed thickly and nodded. "Okay."

Aaron's smile grew bigger. "You won't regret this." He patted his shoulder and walked away.

Blaine stared after him. "I hope so."

**A/N:**

**Songs in order:**

**How you remind me – Nickelback**

**Camera shy – School Boy Humor**

**I hope you liked this chapter. Please tell me what you'd like to see more of in this story, and I'll consider it. Reviews are always appreciated. Thank you for reading.**

**/xo Natassa**


	9. What you can't say aloud

Blaine entered the huge house and discarded his bag on the floor before getting out of his coat. He knew his parents were out, so he didn't really expect an answer when he called out.

"I'm home."

But the loud footsteps from upstairs told him he wasn't alone.

"Blaine!"

A body slammed into Blaine and he felt himself falling backwards by the force, but two strong arms had a firm grip around him and he was pressed into his brother's embrace.

"I missed you so much," Everett mumbled and Blaine couldn't help but smile. He'd missed him too.

After a few seconds, several attempts to squirm away and a bit of begging Everett finally let go of his little brother.

"You'd think you haven't seen me in ages," Blaine said, grabbing his bag and walking towards the stairs.

"It's actually been a month," Everett defended himself. "Because you had to go and get detention on your first week, then you had to study for some huge tests."

"Well, I'm sorry my life's been a bit of a mess lately," Blaine shot back playfully.

Everett rolled his eyes and followed him into his room. Once he put his bag aside, Blaine threw himself on the bed.

"Seriously, though," Everett said as he sat down next to him. "How have you been? Have they been treating you well?"

"Ev, we've talked about all this on the phone."

"Yeah, but there's a difference between talking to you on the phone and talking to you in person. I can see if you are lying."

Blaine rolled his eyes. "Well, I'm not. It's all been good."

Everett examined him for a moment, and then leaned back, deciding his brother was telling the truth.

"That's good to hear," he said.

Blaine nodded and they fell into a comfortable silence. Blaine had always been able to talk to Everett about anything. He didn't need to worry about being judged. He peeked carefully at his older brother.

"Ev?"

Everett turned his head to look at him. "Yes?"

"I, uh, I just." Blaine rubbed his neck, not knowing where to start.

Everett scooted a bit closer to him. "What's up?"

Blaine chewed on his bottom lip and sighed. "Nothing. It's nothing."

Everett raised an eyebrow, knowing that there certainly was_ something_, but Blaine didn't seem ready to acknowledge that something, so he let it slide for now.

"Alright, so what do you wanna do? Movie night with a bunch of junk food?"

Blaine smiled slightly and nodded. "You read my mind."

"Always had, little brother, and always will."

***Line break (seriously, how do you make those lines that separate paragraphs?)***

Nick tapped the textbook lightly with his pencil as he read through his notes, humming absentmindedly under his breath. His roommate, Flint, glanced at him with a frown. Nick didn't seem to notice him.

Things with Jeff had been pretty odd lately. Kind of tense. And Nick just couldn't quite understand why. It couldn't have something to do with him, could it? Was it something he said? Something he did? Whatever the reason was, Jeff was drifting away from him. And Nick didn't like it.

He didn't like it at all.

"Perfect World!" Flint suddenly exclaimed. Nick looked up at him, raising an eyebrow in confusion. "The song you're humming on. It's Perfect World by Simple Plan. I've spent the past 20 minutes trying to place it," he explained with a triumphant smile.

Nick chuckled and shook his head. "You could've just asked."

"What would be the fun in that?" Flint said, winking at him.

Nick let out another laugh and went back to his homework. Flint looked down at his own books.

"How far have you come? I'm almost halfway, but I can't seem to figure out question 7."

Nick glanced at his notes, ready to give Flint the right answer when he realized that he was still at question 3. _Question 3._ Something was seriously wrong with him. Maybe he was getting sick.

"I, uh, haven't gotten there yet," he said and cleared his throat awkwardly. Flint gaped at him for a moment before recovering from his initial shock.

"Understandable. With all the humming and sighing, I can tell that you're distracted."

"What do you mean?" Nick asked quickly.

Flint smiled. "I mean that your mind seems to be somewhere else today. There's nothing wrong with that. It's just human."

"But that's never happened to me before!" Nick exclaimed, frowning deeply. "I don't like it. I just want to study like a normal person."

"You've never studied like a normal person," Flint cut in.

"I just want to sit down and read and forget all about-" Nick cut himself off and ran a hand through his hair. Flint looked at him curiously.

"Forget about whom?"

"What?"

"You said forget about him."

"No, I didn't. I stopped before I said him."

"You kind of just busted yourself, though."

"Doesn't matter. I still didn't say him."

"Whatever. I still know you wanted to say him."

"This conversation just got really weird."

Flint laughed. "I agree, but come on, I'm here if you need to talk. And judging by the way you look, you _really_ need talk."

Nick bit his lip. "It's nothing."

"If you don't wanna talk about it, then I suggest you sing about it. How about you prepare a song for the next Warbler practice?"

"That will be Blaine's audition day. I don't wanna steal his spotlight."

"Dude, are we speaking about the same Blaine? Blaine would _like_ you to steal his spotlight."

"Yeah, but-"

"No buts. You're singing on the next Warbler practice. The end."

Nick could just sigh.

***Line break***

Jeff woke up with a start. He gasped loudly and sucked in a desperate breath of fresh air. His body was drenched in sweat and he could feel his heart racing in his chest. What the hell was going on?

Jeff didn't have nightmares very often. At least not since he was a little boy. This was the first time he was feeling this vulnerable right after waking up. He sank back down onto the pillow slowly and exhaled shakily. It was just a dream.

_Sweaty palms clutching desperately at messy hair, lips tracing salty skin in a trail of lazy kisses, warm bodies being pressed together, two voices panting each other's names…_

Jeff covered his ears as if it could make the memories go away. No, it might not have been what people would define a nightmare, but to Jeff it was too surreal to be a normal dream.

He'd just had an intimate dream about a boy. A boy with dark hair and glittering eyes that looked suspiciously familiar.

Jeff closed his eyes, hoping for the confusion to ease in the morning.

***Line break***

Blaine's lip was almost at the verge of bleeding since he was biting it so hard. Why was he doing this? Why couldn't he just have said no? Or at least faked being sick so he could've stayed home another day and spend more time with Everett. At least he wouldn't be in this position right now.

"Blaine Anderson, whenever you're ready."

Blaine glanced at Wes and gave him a shaky nod. It was time. It was his official audition for the Warblers. Once again, why was he doing this?

He found himself walking to the front of the room, wringing his hands together nervously.

"Hi," he mumbled. "I'll be singing Dark Blue by Jack's Mannequin." A few whispers were heard at his announcement, but the room quickly settled down again and Blaine was met by silence. He took a deep breath, counted to three in his head and signaled for David to start the music. Here goes nothing.

Or maybe everything.

_I have, I have you breathing down my neck, breathing down my neck_

_I don't, don't know what you could possibly expect under this condition so_

_I'll wait, I'll wait for the ambulance to come, ambulance to come_

_Pick us up off the floor_

_What did you possibly expect under this condition so_

Blaine closed his eyes and pretended he was alone in his bedroom, away from the judging ears and eyes.

_Slow down, this night's a perfect shade of_

_Dark blue, dark blue_

_Have you ever been alone in a crowded room, well I'm here with you_

_I said the world could be burning, burning down_

_Dark blue, dark blue_

_Have you ever been alone in a crowded room, well I'm here with you_

_I said the world could be burning 'til there's nothing but dark blue_

_Just dark blue_

Blaine licked his lips and continued.

_This flood, this flood is slowly rising up, swallowing the ground_

_Beneath my feet, tell me how anybody thinks under this condition so_

_I'll swim, I'll swim as the water rises up, the sun is sinking down_

_And now all I can see are the planets in a row_

_Suggesting it's best that I_

Wes was watching Blaine carefully, noticing the way he seemed to really feel what he was singing. He had so much emotion hidden inside of him that was just waiting to break free.

_Slow down, this night's a perfect shade of_

_Dark blue, dark blue_

_Have you ever been alone in a crowded room, well I'm here with you_

_I said the world could be burning, burning down_

_Dark blue, dark blue_

_Have you ever been alone in a crowded room, well I'm here with you_

_I said the world could be burning dark blue_

Blaine finally opened his eyes again and placed his gaze somewhere over the other Warblers' heads.

_We were boxing_

_We were boxing the stars_

_We were boxing_

_You were swinging for Mars_

_And then the water reached the West Coast_

_And took the power lines, power lines_

_And it was me and you_

_And the whole town under water_

_There was nothing we could do_

_It was dark blue_

Blaine glanced at Wes and David quickly, taking a step back and blinking twice.

_Dark blue, dark blue_

_Have you ever been alone in a crowded room, well I'm here with you_

_I said the world could be burning, burning down_

_Dark blue_

_Have you ever been alone in a crowded room, well I'm here with you_

_I said the world could be burning, now there's nothing but dark blue_

Blaine took a deep breath and sang the last two lines of the song.

_If you've ever been alone you'll know dark blue_

_If you've ever been alone you'll know, you'll know_

Blaine was not prepared for the applauses that arose when the music faded. All the Warblers cheered loudly, some of them even looking a bit proud of him. Blaine stared at them dumbly, not knowing what to say or do. Wes walked up to him, a huge smile covering his face.

"I think it's rather clear that we all want you on the team, so," He stepped back and held out his arms. "Welcome to the Warblers."

Blaine didn't know if he was supposed to give some sort of speech, so he simply plastered on a nervous, but genuine smile and muttered a weak 'thank you' and walked towards the back of the room.

He got a few claps on his back and shoulders on the way and he tensed up slightly, but tried to give them all a grateful smile.

"So, it's come to my knowledge that Blaine is not the only one that will perform today," Wes continued as Blaine sat down next to Jeff. "Nick also wanted to share a song with us."

Everyone turned to look at Nick who blushed a bit and gave a shy smile. Jeff stared at him with wide eyes and Blaine nudged him gently, silently asking what's wrong. Jeff just shook his head. He looked tired. Worn out. Blaine was starting to worry.

"I, uh, was humming on a song the other day and it kind of describes my situation perfectly right now," Nick said as he stood in the front. "It's called Perfect World by Simple Plan."

A couple of boys raised their eyebrows and watched him with new curiosity. Blaine, for some reason, could not stop looking at Jeff who seemed to be avoiding Nick's eyes.

Nick licked his lips and inhaled deeply before turning to David with a smile. David got the hint and turned the music on. Nick's melodious voice soon filled the hall.

_I never could've seen this far_

_I never could've seen this coming_

_Seems like my world's falling apart_

Nick threw his head back as he sang the next word.

_Yeah_

_Why is everything so hard_

_I don't think that I can deal with the things you said_

_It just won't go away_

He gave Jeff a quick glance, but the latter boy was looking down at his shoes.

_In a perfect world_

_This could never happen_

_In a perfect world_

_You'd still be here_

_And it makes no sense_

_I could just pick up the pieces_

_But to you_

_This means nothing_

_Nothing at all_

Nick let his gaze wander away from the blonde boy and he stared out the window, sadness covering his features.

_I used to think that I was strong_

_Until the day it all went wrong_

_I think I need a miracle to make it through_

_Yeah_

_I wish that I could bring you back_

_I wish that I could turn back time_

'_Cause I can't let go_

_I just can't find my way_

_Yeah_

_Without you I just can't find my way_

Nick clutched at his uniform angrily, looking very small and lost.

_In a perfect world_

_This could never happen_

_In a perfect world_

_You'd still be here_

_And it makes no sense_

_I could just pick up the pieces_

_But to you_

_This means nothing_

_Nothing at all_

He hung his head and scrunched his face up. A lot of boys got the urge to just grab him and give him a hug.

_I don't know what I should do now_

_I don't know where I should go_

_I'm still here waiting for you_

_I'm lost when you're not around_

_I need to hold on to you_

_I just can't let you go_

He sang the last word too loudly than necessary, his message coming across neatly.

_Yeah_

_Yeah_

_In a perfect world_

_This could never happen_

_In a perfect world_

_You'd still be here_

_And it makes no sense_

_I could just pick up the pieces_

_But to you_

_This means nothing_

_Nothing at all_

_You feel nothing, nothing at all_

_Nothing at all_

Nick was breathing heavily when the song ended and everyone started clapping frantically – well, everyone except for Jeff – This was a side of Nick they'd never seen before. He was normally very calm and shy. This side of him was perfect for performances, Wes thought happily.

"That was fantastic, Nick," David cheered, giving him a grin. Nick smiled bashfully and took a step back, returning to his normal behavior again. He glanced at Flint who gave him a thumb up and an approving nod.

Blaine on the other hand was still examining Jeff. He was sitting at the verge of his seat, glancing up once in a while, but mostly just staring at the ground. Blaine knew Jeff was avoiding Nick lately, he wasn't blind. That was why Nick seemed so lost and pissed off at the same time. Blaine just couldn't figure out _why_ he was avoiding him. Truth be told, Jeff seemed as lost as Nick. Blaine was feeling concern for both of them. Something must be wrong.

"All right, the meeting is over. We'll see you all next time," Wes announced and they all flew to their feet, talking happily to their friends as they left the music room. Blaine nudged Jeff gently and motioned towards the door. Jeff nodded and they both stood up and walked towards the exit. Blaine shot Nick a look, silently telling him that he would try to fix this. Nick nodded at him and turned to Wes and David, waiting for them to finish getting their stuff.

"That was powerful, man," David told him and Nick smiled shyly. "I mean it. You should let that side out more often. Just not on us," he continued with a wink.

"As amazing as your performance was, Nick, can we just talk about Blaine's? I mean, the way he sang the words. With so much emotion." Wes shuddered. "That was deep."

"Agreed. He should definitely let his feelings out more often," Nick said.

"He seems pretty reserved. Sure, he's opened up a bit lately, but he's still not completely himself. At least not around other people than us," David filled in.

"Maybe he just needs to get used to it. Like Aaron said, he's born to be a star," Wes said.

"Speaking of Aaron, where was he today? I thought he was dying to see Blaine's performance," Nick asked, frowning a bit.

"I have no idea. I spoke to some of his friends. No one's seen him since Friday," Wes retorted.

"Aww, man. I bet Blaine's crushed," David said.

Nick raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Come on, don't tell me you haven't noticed the way he acts around him. Blaine's got it bad. Aaron's probably the only reason he agreed to join. I can't imagine how he must be feeling right now."

"He'll be fine. He'll probably shut off a bit, though, but he'll get over it," Nick concluded.

The other two hummed quietly.

**A/N:**

**Oh hi! It's been a while and for that I am sorry. I was stuck and couldn't figure out how to continue, but yesterday I sat down and thought of what I want to happen in this fic, how I want each storyline to work out. And I wrote this. I hope you liked it. The next chapter will hopefully be up faster than this did.**

**Songs:**

**Dark Blue – Jack's Mannequin**

**Perfect World – Simple Plan**

**Where do you think Aaron was? And what **_**is**_** actually going on with Jeff? Will Blaine get him to talk? Stay tuned and find out.**

**Reviews are appreciated!**

**/xo Natassa**


	10. Feelings

Blaine followed Jeff to his dorm room, quietly planning out what to say. He wasn't so sure Jeff would open up to him, but he needed to try. This little distance thing him and Nick had going was affecting him as well. He couldn't stand seeing them apart; because he knew how much they hated it.

So he would try to fix it, in some way.

He sat down on Jeff's bed as the latter rummaged around in one of his drawers, finally localizing an oversized sweatshirt, and he turned to his visitor again.

"I'm gonna change. Is that okay?"

"What? Oh, yeah. Sure. Go ahead," Blaine said with a nod, waving his hand lazily. Jeff gave a weak grin and started pulling off his blazer while Blaine examined his cuticles bashfully, refusing to look up until the side of the bed tipped and Jeff let out a sigh as he sat down. Blaine glanced at him.

"Are you okay?"

Jeff shrugged. "I guess. I mean, why wouldn't I be?"

"You seemed pretty down at Warbler practice. Especially when Nick sang," he added gently.

Jeff sighed again. "Me and Nick; it's complicated."

"It didn't seem very complicated a couple of weeks ago."

"A lot can happen in a couple of weeks, you know," Jeff said, sending him a sad smile. Blaine averted his gaze and looked around the room, searching for the right words to say.

"I know this is hard, Jeff. Whatever it is that's bothering you, I know it must be very hard since you can't talk to your best friend about it. But you can talk to me, if you want. I know hard. Heck, I've _lived_ hard. I know how it feels. And I know that you need someone to talk to, even if you don't feel like you do. No matter how small the matter might be, you should be able to tell someone. If there's one thing I've learned since I came to this school, it's that you should never be ashamed for whatever you feel or have felt, because at the time, it was real. Not just love, but sadness, anger, joy, depression even, it was all there when you felt it. So you should never think that it's wrong of you to feel it. It's never wrong. It just shows that you are human. That you opened your heart up for something. Either it was worth it or not. You should never apologize for what you feel."

Jeff had been quiet during Blaine's little speech. Blaine was afraid he might've gone too far. He didn't know what the problem was, after all. But mostly he felt rather surprised with himself. He never really talked about deep things. When he thought about it, he never really talked this much at all, except for when he was with his brother. He would call him later. He should know this.

Jeff was staring blankly at his hands that were resting on his knees. Blaine was considering nudging him to get a reaction, but before he got the chance the blonde boy turned his head towards him swiftly. He wasn't angry. Well, at least he didn't look it. He had this very stoic expression plastered over his face, but his eyes gave it all away. He was trying hard to hold back tears.

Blaine wanted more than ever to just wrap his arms around him, but he couldn't find the courage to do so. Fortunately for him, Jeff started speaking, his voice pretty steady.

"That's probably the most I've ever heard you say," he said with a weak laugh. Blaine gave a small smile, his eyes softening when Jeff bit his lip. "I'm just so confused," he admitted.

"Why are you confused?" Blaine whispered, afraid that his voice would crack because of all the pain Jeff's face was currently showing.

"I thought I always knew who I was. Then I woke up one day and realized I was wrong. Do you know how that feels? It's like your whole life has been a lie."

Blaine didn't answer; he just quietly waited for him to continue.

"I'm not straight. I've never been straight. I've never been in love with anyone, so I just assumed I liked girls and just hadn't found the right one yet. Guys have never tempted me. Except-" He cut himself off, running a hand through his hair. "You already know this, don't you? You already know who I'm talking about. Everyone could see it but me. How could I be so blind? I wish I would've realized it sooner. I didn't want to find out that I'm in love with Nick by dreaming a freaking wet dream about him. That's just wrong, you know?"

Blaine couldn't say he was surprised. He'd seen the way they looked at each other, but Jeff always claimed he was straight. Apparently he was much more confused than they thought.

"But I am. I love with him, I mean. Well, at least I think I am. How do you even know if you're in love? And how do you say that to your best friend without ruining your friendship? Oh, God, Blaine, I'm so scared," Jeff choked out, finally letting his tears spill. Blaine immediately sprinted to action, putting his arms around his friend and comforting him as best as he could. Every sob sent an aching shudder through his body. He would try to help Jeff figure everything out. After all, he'd been there himself. He knew how much you need someone there. He vowed to be Jeff's someone.

***Line break***

Aaron quietly walked into the school grounds late on Monday evening, carrying a bag with him. He knew Cameron would kill him for not returning his calls the whole weekend, but sometimes you just needed some time for yourself, he thought as he entered the huge building and walked towards the dorms. He was attacked as soon as he stepped into the main common room.

"_Where the hell have you been?_" demanded Cameron's voice as he stomped up to him and glared angrily.

"Home?" Aaron offered weakly, trying to side step him, but Cameron didn't budge.

"Oh yeah? And what did you do that was so important that you could show up to your classes today, let alone pick up your phone?"

Aaron rubbed his neck. "It's complicated and personal, Cam. Can we take it someplace else, when I'm not feeling like I just wanna lie on my bed a die?"

Cameron sighed and nodded. "Fine. But we're talking about this later, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. I'll see you in the morning," Aaron said as he walked towards his dorm. He vaguely overheard two freshmen talking about something that happened in Warbler practice, and he thought he heard the name "Blaine". _Shoot!_ Blaine! His audition was today. He'd missed it. Damn, he'd been looking forward to it. Oh, well, he would hear him sing again sooner or later, he thought with a smile.

***Line break***

Blaine was exhausted. Not only had he spent the whole afternoon trying to comfort Jeff, but he was trying to push away his own feelings of abandonment and confusion. Aaron had told him to audition, told him he was born to perform, and yet he hadn't been there. He didn't show up. Blaine felt used in some way. Like he'd tricked him, which didn't even make sense. He opened the door to his dorm room with a heavy sigh.

"Hey, there you are. How did your audition go?" Matt asked, a knowing grin spreading over his lips.

"Oh, it went fine. I'm in," Blaine dismissed him with a wave, falling down onto his bed tiredly.

"I knew you would be amazing!" Matt cheered and Blaine felt himself blush, grabbing for his pillow to cover his face. Matt laughed. "Aww, look at you, all shy and modest," he cooed.

"Shut up," Blaine mumbled, emerging from the pillow and shooting his roommate a playful glare.

"So, what did Aaron think of it?" Matt asked nonchalantly. Blaine knew he should blush even more and stammer something about not knowing what he's talking about, but instead he found himself feeling a lump rise in his throat, his face falling immediately.

"He wasn't there," he mumbled, swallowing thickly and turning his gaze to the ground. He couldn't help but let his disappointment show. He was tired of hiding his feelings all the time

Matt's face visibly softened and his grin was long gone. "I'm sorry," he said.

"You have nothing to be sorry about. It's no big deal," Blaine said with a shrug.

"I know how much you wanted him to be there."

"I didn't want him there, I just…he wanted me to audition, so it just feels weird that he wouldn't show up." He ran a hand through his hair, looking up at Matt again. "I'm probably just over thinking stuff. I mean, he's got a life outside of school. Maybe something happened in his family or something. I've got no right to expect him to be there."

"You shouldn't be ashamed of what you're feeling," Matt said, causing Blaine to do a double take. "If you wanted him there you don't need to explain yourself. And you shouldn't have to hide your disappointment."

"I know, I'm just…I'm not used to, well, this," Blaine said, biting his lip. "I'm not used to opening up and being told that what I feel is right. At my old school everyone bashed me because I was gay. No one except my brother ever told me that there was nothing wrong with me." Blaine had just come out to his roommate, though he suspected Matt already knew. He was very observant.

Matt didn't say anything; he just crossed the room and sat down next to him, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"You don't need to be afraid anymore, Blaine. You're at Dalton now. You're accepted here. Let everyone get to know the real Blaine. Let them see the slightly dorky, adorable puppy you really are," Matt said with a teasing grin and ruffled his hair. Blaine shoved him with a laugh. "Trust me, Aaron doesn't know what he's missing."

Aah, there it was. The blushing. Blaine knew it would come back. He ducked his head and Matt just grinned wider, nudging him playfully.

"You should go to sleep. With the emotional rollercoaster you've been through today, I'm guessing you'll need it," Matt said and gave his shoulder one last pat before he stood up and went to his side of the room again. Blaine nodded absentmindedly as he started changing into his pajamas, not giving a care in the world that he wasn't alone in the room. He got under the covers and called out a quick goodnight to his roommate. He fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

**A/N:**

**I wanted this chapter to be longer, but I felt like it should end there. I'm sorry it took me so long to update, but life's been in the way, in both good and bad ways. Anyway, reviews are appreciated as usual, so **_**please**_** do tell me what you thought =)**

**Love you all!**

**/xo Natassa**


	11. Confusion and clarification

Nick was known for sleeping in late. Despite his shy personality, he really wasn't anything like the typical stereotyped straight A's student. But if he wasn't up by breakfast time on a school day, something had to be wrong. He was currently hiding under his covers, preventing his roommate from seeing if he was actually asleep or not. Flint frowned as he watched the brunette shift a little. He quietly walked up to the bed and gave Nick's shoulder a light shake.

"Nick? You awake?"

Nick grumbled something incomprehensible and peeked his head out, his hair sticking out in every direction.

"Wha-?" he slurred. Flint suppressed an amused smile.

"Do you wanna go and get some breakfast or do you want me to grab something for you?"

Nick blinked a couple of times, trying to rouse himself up. Then he sighed heavily and buried his face into his pillow.

"No, it's okay. I'll survive," he mumbled.

Flint raised an eyebrow. "Until dinner? I won't be able to get you any lunch. Are you sure you'll be okay?"

"I'll be fine," Nick assured him. Flint frowned again.

"Is something wrong?" he asked gingerly.

"Everything's fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

Flint nodded. He didn't want to pry any more, and Nick seemed like he didn't want to talk about it, so he let it slide for now.

"I'm here if you ever need me, okay?" he said instead.

Nick's eyes softened and he gave a half smile of appreciation. Then he sank under the covers again. Flint wasn't sure if he was tired as in needing more sleep or tired as in needing to get away for a while. He was kind of guessing on the latter, but the first one could be accurate as well since he didn't seem to sleep very well lately.

"I'll tell your teachers you're feeling sick," Flint announced and shot him one last look of concern before he left the dorm room.

***Line break***

Blaine had a hard time concentrating in his classes, which wasn't good considering he hadn't been at Dalton for that long. But he couldn't help it. His mind just kept wandering off. Everything seemed to be a distraction lately. He put way too much thought on insignificant things that only made him feel like ripping his hair out. And with insignificant things he meant Aaron, because that's what he was. Insignificant. Unimportant. Not something he needed in his life right now.

Everything about this guy confused him. Why did he ask him to audition, but didn't even show up for it when Blaine had agreed? And why did he seem so amused everytime he saw Blaine? It was like he was making fun of him or something. Blaine didn't like it. He didn't like it at all.

From now on he would stay away from Aaron Palmer. It's not like he was interested in him anyway. No, Blaine just found him…interesting. But he wasn't interested _in_ him. See the difference?

This guy was really messing with his head, Blaine realized with a sigh, running a hand over his face and staring down at his desk. Wes, who was sitting beside him, gave him a sideways glance, silently asking what's wrong. Blaine decided to ignore him for now.

That's when the classroom door burst open and Scott Reyson strolled in. Their English teacher, a woman in her mid 40's, glared at him so fiercely, Blaine was afraid his head would catch fire. He just shot her a lopsided grin.

"Nice to see you, too," he said smoothly.

"And why, may I ask, are you 45 minutes late, Mr Reyson?"

"Because the last 15 minutes are always the most important," Scott replied with a shrug. "And I didn't feel like showing up before. Problem?"

"Yes, there certainly is a problem," she spat out, walking towards her desk and writing something down. Scott was having none of it.

"You know you can't expel me, right?"

"Oh, believe me, I do. But that won't prevent me from giving you detention, will it?"

Scott sighed. "I guess not. When?"

"This Friday. 5 o'clock."

"I'll see you then," Scott winked and slunk into a chair in the front, putting his arm around Thad, his roommate and the third council member, and looking at Mrs Grey with a grin. She sighed and went back to what she had been talking about before. Blaine wasn't really sure what it was.

Once the lesson was over Wes ran up to Scott and gave his back a friendly pat.

"Man, I love it when you walk in and interrupt the classes. It's usually the highlight of it all," he told him.

Scott just grinned at him and took a small bow.

"You think an awfully lot about yourself, don't you?"

They all turned around to find a boy whom Blaine had never seen before. He was tall and his brown hair had some blond highlights in it that really brought out his hazel eyes. He didn't look as unfriendly as he had sounded. He didn't even glare at Scott, but his posture said it all. He wasn't particularly fond of Scott.

"Baker," Scott said, his tone lower than before.

"Reyson," the other boy replied.

"And to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I just wanted to ask you to stop interrupting the classes. Some of us would like an education, unlike you."

"Oh, but you see, when I walk into a room of bored students trying to focus on their work, I'm getting their attention. I'm getting your attention. And that's something I really want. So I guess it's working."

Baker snarled. "You always try too hard, you know that? You love causing a commotion, but guess what? Everything is not about you."

"You know, Cameron, sometimes I really get the urge to slap you. But I'm not going to do that, and you know why?" He leaned closer to the taller boy. "Because hitting women makes you seem like a dick."

That was when Cameron threw the first punch and things started getting real. The remaining students all tried to separate the two boys while Mrs Grey was yelling things in the background. David, being one of the stronger ones, pulled Scott away while others tried to hold Cameron back.

"Scott, calm down!" David roared, trying to prevent the troublemaker from launching another attack. "That goes to you, too, Cameron!"

The door suddenly flew open and the principal came rushing in, looking very angry. Behind him was no other than Aaron Palmer, who was looking very confused. He took one look at Cameron and Scott and he frowned.

"Again?" His question was directed towards Cameron, so Blaine guessed they were friends which would explain why he was here. He had probably been waiting for Cameron to get ready to go to lunch.

"Mr Reyson, Mr Baker! My office now!" Principal Stuart bellowed.

They both glared at each other for a moment until Mr Stuart demanded them to come with him again. Scott yanked his arm out of David's grip and walked towards the door, refusing to look at anyone. Cameron soon followed when Mr Stuart shot him a look and they were all out of the room. Mrs Grey sighed loudly and shook her head.

"What are we going to do with those two?" she asked no one in particular.

Wes nudged Blaine. "Come on. Let's go to lunch."

Blaine nodded and everyone cleared out of the room. Blaine felt someone grab his shoulder and he instantly flinched. He turned to find Aaron looking at him with a sad smile.

"Hey," he said.

"Hi," he replied.

"Look, I'm sorry I couldn't make it to your audition. But I want to talk to you. Meet me in the music room after school?"

Blaine really wanted to say no. He really did.

"Okay."

Aaron smiled. "Cool. I'll see you then." And he turned and left.

Blaine let out a frustrated sigh, wondering where his plans of avoiding Aaron had gone. He turned towards Wes and David and found them both smirking at him. He tried to look as innocent as possible.

"What?"

Wes shook his head. "Nothing. Let's go."

***Line break***

"They had a fight? Man, why do these things always happen when I'm not around?" Jeff asked sadly.

"It was awesome, I'm telling you. Cameron totally got him though, but he's like twice as big anyway," Wes said.

"He's not that big, though. Aaron is taller," David added.

"Speaking of Aaron." Wes turned to Blaine. "Are you excited about your date today?"

"_Date?!_ You have a date? Why didn't you tell me?" Jeff demanded with a scowl.

"It's not a date!" Blaine protested. "He asked me to meet him after school. He said he wanted to talk to me. That's all."

"I bet you wish it was a date, though," Wes winked at him. Blaine felt himself blush.

"I do not!"

"You so do!"

"Shut up!"

"Blainey's got a crush!" Wes sang.

Blaine covered his face and the others laughed.

"No really, that's kind of cute," David said.

"I for one can't get over the fact that you just called him Blainey. I'm so using that one," Jeff concluded.

Blaine let out a laugh, still covering his face and shaking his head. "You're all impossible."

"That's why you love us."

The truth was Blaine didn't feel uncomfortable with them teasing him like this. It made him feel included. For the first time he felt like he could be himself around a group of people. It was a nice feeling.

"By the way, where's Nick?" David suddenly asked as if he just remembered one of them was missing.

"Flint told me he was feeling sick this morning," Jeff said, looking a bit tenser than before, but otherwise playing it off fine, Blaine thought.

"Sick? But Nick never gets sick," Wes said, sounding worried. "Is he okay?"

"If he's feeling sick then I guess he's not okay," David countered. Wes rolled his eyes at him.

"Smartass."

Blaine tuned them out after that because Aaron had just walked into the cafeteria with Cameron at his heels. He must've felt that Blaine was watching him or something because he looked up and their eyes met. And he smiled. Blaine wanted to swoon.

Then Cameron grabbed Aaron's arm and dragged him away. Blaine did everything in his power not to follow them with his gaze.

"You know smiling and staring longingly at him is pretty obvious, right?" Cameron asked Aaron from the other side of the room. Aaron glanced up at him.

"I need to show him I'm sorry."

"I'm sure he didn't take it that hard, Aaron."

"You can never be sure. I don't want him to think I'm a bad guy, Cam. For some reason I want to get to know him."

"I know. It's called having a crush."

"I don't have a crush on him," Aaron objected.

"Whatever floats your boat, mate." Cameron grinned at him. "But I know you do."

"Can we just eat now?"

***Line break***

Blaine didn't know if he had been dreading this moment or looking forward to it. Probably both. The school day was over and he was supposed to meet up with Aaron. To say he was nervous would be an understatement.

He walked as fast as he dared without seeming to be in a rush, carefully pushing through the crowd of boys all going to the dorms or commons. As he approached the music room he couldn't help but think if Aaron would ditch him again. It wouldn't surprise him really. He was not the first one.

"You came," a voice suddenly said. Blaine looked up. He hadn't realized that he was standing by the door to the said music room, and Aaron was standing right before him. He was smiling warmly at him and Blaine felt a smile of his own creep onto his face.

"Hey," he said. Aaron's grin grew and he held out his hands towards one of the couches.

"You wanna sit down?"

Blaine nodded and followed him, making sure there was enough space between them when they sat down.

"So, how are you?" Aaron asked. "I mean, have you started getting used to Dalton yet?"

Blaine licked his lips. "Yeah, I'm fine. It's all fine."

"I'm glad. I heard you killed it at your audition yesterday." Blaine rubbed his neck bashfully and Aaron smiled again. "I wish I could've been there, I really do. But something came in the way and I'm sorry."

"It's okay. It's not like you're obliged to be there," Blaine waved him off.

"I'm serious. I asked you to audition then I wasn't even there. You must think I'm an ass."

"I don't," Blaine said quickly, looking him straight in the eyes. Aaron blinked in surprise and Blaine immediately averted his gaze with a nervous laugh. "I mean, I get that you have a life outside of school."

Aaron nodded. "I do, but you have to believe me when I say that I really wanted to be there."

Blaine bit his lips. "I do believe you."

A moment of silence passed them by. Blaine could feel Aaron watching him, and he awkwardly cleared his throat. "So, uh, is that all you wanted to talk about?" he asked, trying not to sound impolite.

"Actually, I wanted to ask you a favor," Aaron said, and Blaine looked up at him. "I felt like this is the best way for me to make up for missing your audition."

Blaine opened his mouth to object, but Aaron beat him to it. "No protests. I'm going to do this anyway. But I really hope you'll do it with me."

Blaine frowned in confusion. Aaron smiled. "I want us to sing a duet."

"A-a duet? Together?" Blaine choked out.

"Well, usually when you sing a duet you do it together," Aaron replied with a teasing grin and Blaine rolled his eyes. "So are you in?"

"I don't know…" Blaine mumbled. He really hadn't expected this.

"Come on. We will do great. Everyone will love us."

"Everyone?"

"The Warblers. What? You thought I would just keep you to myself?" Aaron grinned again.

"I, uh." Blaine ran a hand through his hair. Aaron was looking at him with what could only be classified as puppy eyes. He sighed in defeat. "What song?"

Aaron's face lit up. "Well, you seemed to be into Nickelback so…"

**A/N:**

**Will Nick be okay? What's up with Scott and Cameron? What song does Aaron have in mind? Stay tuned and find out!**

**I hope you liked it. Reviews are appreciated =D**

**/xo Natassa**


	12. Love isn't easy, but it could be

"Hey you," Matt greeted once Blaine entered the dorm. "Classes ended over an hour ago. Where've you been?"

"Oh, you know, places," Blaine replied as he put his satchel down by the foot of his bed.

Matt raised an eyebrow. "What, you're keeping secrets from me now?" he asked playfully.

Blaine just shot him a smile.

"Okay, now I'm curious." Matt slowly staggered over to his roommate and sat down next to him on the bed. "Tell me."

"No."

Matt poked his side. "Tell me."

Blaine slapped the hand away. "No."

"Tell." Poke. "Me." Poke.

"Go away," Blaine laughed as he shoved him a bit. He had not expected Matt to pin him down and straddle his hips.

"Now," Matt said as Blaine let out a shriek. "Will you tell me or will I have to tickle it out of you?" He gently squeezed Blaine's sides to show he was serious.

"Okay, okay! I'll tell you!" Blaine squealed, grabbing the older boy's hands with his own.

Matt grinned triumphantly and got off him. "That wasn't so hard, was it?"

Blaine shot him a playful glare as he sat up.

"Now tell me."

Blaine sighed. "I was with Aaron. He asked me to meet him after school."

"What did he say?"

"That he was sorry he couldn't make it to my audition."

"And?"

"And that he wanted to make it up to me."

"How?"

Blaine ran a hand over his face. "By singing a duet with me."

"Oh, isn't that romantic," Matt teased.

"Shut up."

"So you spent the afternoon rehearsing for the duet?"

"Yes. He…he's really good," Blaine mumbled, a small smile spreading over his lips.

"Well, he is the lead singer after all."

"I've heard him sing before, but having him singing with me…it was different."

"Aww." Matt put an arm around Blaine's shoulders and pulled him into a hug. "My little Blaine's in love."

"Am not," Blaine protested. "I just like him."

"Well, you're slowly but steady falling in love with him," Matt said with a grin. "I can tell."

"Oh, God," Blaine groaned. Matt laughed.

"What? Love is a good thing."

"I've never been in love before."

"There's a first time for everything."

"What if he doesn't like me back?"

"Then he's missing out. I'm telling you, if I was gay I'd totally tap this."

Blaine burst out laughing and Matt ruffled his hair.

"Don't laugh. It's true. And you'd be falling for me instead of Aaron and we'd be the it couple at Dalton."

"A love story that will go untold," Blaine said once he'd calmed down.

Matt grinned at him again. "Anyway, since I'm not gay I guess Aaron will do. When are you going to make a move?"

"Make a move?" Blaine squeaked out. "I'm not making a move. No way. I'm going to admire him from afar."

"Blaine," Matt whined. "No love story is made that way."

"Who said I want a love story? If I wanted any more drama in my life I'd watch a soap opera."

"Not every relationship means drama."

Blaine snorted. "Right. And not every gay student gets bullied in public schools."

"Not every gay student _gets_ bullied in public school," Matt corrected.

"I find that hard to believe."

"Can we go back to the matter at hand? What are you going to do about your crush on Aaron?"

"Absolutely nothing."

"Then I guess I'm gonna have to do something for you."

Blaine glared at him. "Don't you dare."

"Oh, I dare."

"Please, Matt. Just leave it for now and let me figure out what to do on my own."

"All right, fine. But I want updates and details, you hear me?"

Blaine rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. I have to study for a test now."

"This is not the last time we're having this conversation."

Blaine sighed. "Of course not."

***Line break***

Wes smiled as his phone vibrated once again. He grabbed it, read the new text and started forming a reply. He was lying on his stomach on his bed, leaning on his elbows and his legs crossed in the air behind him. He looked like a teenage girl, especially with that huge grin covering his face. David snorted loudly at the sight before him. Wes didn't seem to hear him.

David reached for his own phone and sent a quick text to Jeff, telling him to get over hear so that he could have some real company. The blonde boy walked into their dorm room only 2 minutes later. He glanced at Wes briefly before shooting David a questioning look. David shook his head.

"He's been like this all afternoon. I'm so bored. I talk to him and he doesn't notice. It's like I'm invisible or something," he said.

"Who is he texting?" Jeff asked as he sat down next to David on his bed.

"Addison. Who else?" David replied with a roll of his eyes. "They've been texting for days now, and Wes _still_ refuses to ask her out. In fact, he refuses to acknowledge his feelings at all. He's so stubborn."

Jeff let out a laugh. "Hey, he'll act on them when he's ready."

"Can he get ready a little quicker? I'm tired of hearing his sighing," David complained.

Jeff's smile faltered a bit. "These things aren't always easy, David."

David turned his head to look at him, a serious expression now covering his face. He observed him carefully until Jeff felt a bit uncomfortable and had to duck his head. He played with the hem of his shirt and only looked up when David cleared his throat.

"You're right. It's none of my business anyway. What he does is his choice."

Jeff nodded with a tight lipped smile. He looked at Wes again who was still in his own little world. He bit the inside of his cheek when he felt David shifting on the bed. He could feel his gaze on him and steadily avoided his eyes.

"Jeff?" David said softly. He placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. Jeff turned his head and their glances met. "How about we go and get some coffee?"

Jeff smiled. "Sounds great."

***Line break***

"Nick, are you okay?" Flint asked as he walked into their shared dormitory only to find the dark haired boy sitting on the floor with his back resting against the bed. Nick glanced up at him.

"I'm fine. It just got tiring lying in bed all day," he said.

"What, and a chair wasn't good enough?"

Nick shrugged and went back to staring at a spot on the wall. Flint felt a bit concerned as he looked at his roommate. He was clearly upset over something. So upset that he refused to leave the room. What was it that brought him down so much?

"Your friends asked about you today. They missed you," Flint said as he emptied his bag on the desk.

"They did, huh?" Nick mumbled. "I missed them, too. I think I'm going to classes tomorrow. I don't wanna miss any more."

"I'm sure someone will stop by and bring you your homework," Flint assured him just as a knock echoed in the room. He smiled brightly at the smaller boy. "See? I'm psychic," he said as he opened the door to reveal Jeff and David. "Hi, boys."

"Hey, Flint," they greeted. David glanced at Nick who was still sitting on the floor. "Hi, Nick. How're you feeling?"

"Better," Nick said as he stood up.

"We brought you your homework. It's not that much. We got some pages to work on in math and a couple of papers to finish in English," David explained.

Nick nodded and locked eyes with Jeff who still hadn't said a word. Neither of them averted their gazes. It should've been uncomfortable, but for them it wasn't. Jeff finally let a small grin spread over his lips. Nick couldn't help but smile back. He'd missed him.

"So, I guess we'll see you tomorrow then. Get some rest, Nick," David said and gave his shoulder a pat.

Jeff stepped closer and pulled Nick into a hug. The dark haired boy let out a sound of surprise, but immediately threw his arms around him. Once they pulled back Jeff gave his arm a gentle squeeze.

"Get better, Nicky," were the last words he said before leaving the room.

"I'll try, Jeffy. I'll try."

**A/N:**

**I know it took me forever to update and as usual I'm sorry. But here you have it. It'll probably be my last update before 2013, so I just want to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! I'll see you all on the next chapter!**

**Also, reviews would make me very happy.**

**/xo Natassa**


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